Drowning In You
by Purity Black
Summary: COMPLETE! Sequel to 'Manipulating Evolution'. With Jean in a coma, she can't cause any more trouble. Or so you'd think. . .
1. Summary

This is the sequel to 'Manipulating Evolution' which I would suggest reading before this. Although you don't have to! I have a summary right here. Still. In my opinion it was a damn good fic and you should check it out.

I've been having a bad case of writers block with this fic and I keep trying to write in the passive voice, which I hate. I hope it doesn't show.

LET ME KNOW!! If you liked something in here, hit the review button. And if you didn't, again hit the review button. I can always go back and change something that is OOC, misinformed or misspelled.

One last thing: this is an AU fic. I know the episodes aren't in order. I twist things for my own amusement.

**Previously . . .**

Chapter 1: Jean runs away from home after telling her family about her powers and not receiving a great deal of understanding. Mystique finds her in a bus station and persuades her to join the Brotherhood. Professor X goes to her parents' house to try to recruit her only to find that she's not there and realises she's with the Brotherhood.

Chapter 2: Jean meets Scott at Bayville High and on Mystiques orders, befriends him in order to read his mind and discover secrets about the Institute. She finds that she can change people's minds with her powers and does so to Scott. The Professor finds her out and Scott indulges in some childish name-calling.

Chapter 3: Jean and Mystique go to recruit Lance and Kitty – and so do the Professor and Scott. Scott's attempt to talk to Kitty ends in miserable failure and Lance and Kitty break into the office. Scott and the Pryde's discover them before Lance can reveal why he wanted to break into the office and the ensuing fight brings down the house. However, Jean is able to get into the minds of the parents and they call Kitty a freak and tell her they're ashamed of her. She runs away from the school with Lance and they are found on the hill watching the building crumble by Mystique.

Chapter 4: Jean muses on the recruiting of Rogue, Blob and Quicksilver. Rogue traps Kurt in Middleverse and helps the X-Men find him. They are interrupted by the Brotherhood, who fight them for control of the transporter. Kitty gets it, but before she can do anything the Principles car containing Kurt and Forge destroys it.

Chapter 5: Mystique asks Jean to go into Rogues mind and ensure her allegiance remains with the Brotherhood. Lance confesses to Kitty that he wanted her to steal the test answers, but she forgives him. Jean enters Rogues mind and changes the subject of her crush from Scott to Miss Grey herself.

Chapter 6: 'Survival of the fittest' – but Jean and Kitty save the rest of the Brotherhood from the cave instead of the X-Men. The two group fly off to stop Juggernaut and Kitty tells the X-Men why she's with the Brotherhood.

Chapter 7: Rogue is stalking Jean and she's not happy about it! Mystique confronts her about the way she treats Rogue and they argue. Destiny calls Mystique and tells her that she has to make peace with Jean or the entire Brotherhood will leave. Mystique does make peace, but reluctantly and secretly plotting revenge.

Chapter 8: Jeans powers are slowly going out of control and at school, she finally loses it. Lance and Fred take her back to the Brotherhood house, Pietro goes to find Mystique and Toad goes to find Rogue and Kitty. The girls get back to the house and join forces to get Rogue close enough to touch Jean. Mystique arrives too late to stop them. Rogue speaks in Jeans voice and Mystique morphs into Rogue to talk to her and then into Scott to taunt her. In this way, she is able to regain shaky control over her powers but the alterations she has made to the minds of Rogue, Lance and Kitty are broken and they realise she's manipulated them. Rogue runs away through the front door, Lance and Kitty phase through the back and take off in the jeep just as Magneto turns up and takes Jean away with him.

Chapter 9: Kitty and Lance go to the Institute and ask the Professor to make sure none of Jeans influences remain in their minds. Logan finds Rogue and takes her to the mansion with him. Rogue agrees to join the X-Men, but Lance and Kitty leave Bayville to discover if their feelings for each other are genuine or as a result of Jeans influence.

Chapter 10: The X-Men are attacked by the Brotherhood and the winners are taken to Asteroid M. Jean is used to show Scott that the enhancer is safe and the device allows her to regain control of her powers, which have been amplified. The ones left behind crash the party and in the battle, Jean reads Mystiques mind and finds that it was Destiny who foresaw where she would go when she ran away and that she would not have done the things she had if not for the interference of Mystique. Rogue knocks her out. The Asteroid is destroyed and there is no sign of Magneto, Mystique or Jean.

Chapter 11: Quiet time. Lance and Kitty return to Bayville and join the X-Men, as does the Beast. Risty befriends Rogue and Forge, and it's not long before it's a case of "Forge n' Risty sitting in a tree". Forge tells Risty his little secret – and she tells him hers.

Chapter 12: Mystique returns to the Brotherhood house and blackmails Tabby into staying with the team. She introduces two new members, Wanda and Forge. The new team kick the X-Men's asses at the mall.

Chapter 13: The X-Men and Brotherhood find Magneto's Acolytes and find that Jean is with them and Colossus isn't. They fight them; Pietro betrays the teams and the Sentinel is released.

Chapter 14: Pyro writes love poems to Jean. Pietro gets himself arrested. Jean is sent to the Brotherhood house to order them to free him. Lance and Kitty follow them and save Pietro after the Brotherhood screw up. Pietro is reinstated as Brotherhood leader and Jean heads to the Institute.

Chapter 15: Jean breaks into the mansion and finds out where Destiny lives, in order to find out why she was recruited to the Brotherhood and what her fate would have been had she not been. The X-Men find out she's been there and stolen the X-jet and chase after her in the Velocity, without the adults. Jean faces Destiny, who tells her she was recruited to make Rogue stay with the Brotherhood. Jean is pissed off by this news, but is interrupted by the X-Men. Jean defeats them all, seriously injuring Kurt and Lance in the process. Jean indelicately searches Irene's mind, but while she is distracted Rogue manages to borrow Kurt's powers and teleports to Jean. She absorbs Jean, but refuses to let go. Scott persuades Kitty to use her powers to save Jean.

Chapter 16: The mind probe has killed Destiny and Rogue and Logan go to the funeral. Lance and Kurt are hurt but alive. Jean is in a coma and likely to stay that way. Rogue has Jeans telepathy, telekinesis and enhancements, meaning that the Professor can't read her mind. Which is unfortunate, as it would seem that Rogue isn't Rogue at all – she's really Jean…

SHOUT-OUTS FOR THE EPILOGUE!!

Yes, I actually got around to doing it. I usually do them in order of review, but I've pasted them in word to make it cheaper so I apologise if I'm out of synch.

X00001 – I'm glad you enjoyed the fic and as you know I did keep going!

Oceanbang – It's a real compliment having you like my fic because yours are so original! X23 as an Acolyte was totally inspired. And I hope you're enjoying the sequel.

King-Cold – I'm sorry you didn't like the ending; I know it's ambiguous. Thank you for your reviews of Power9! I really thought I wasn't funny until I posted that fic. I hope that you enjoy the sequel and it lives up to expectations!

Steph14Wales – I'm so glad you liked, because you've been there since the beginning! I hope you like this one just as much.

Lyranfan – I had to really struggle for this sequel. I always write my work out using paper and pen before I commit anything to the computer and I was even writing on holiday! But it finally came together. I was proud of the cliffy and I'm glad you weren't upset at me killing off Destiny!

Rogue14 – I think the ending is creepy too, although I guess I'm not supposed to admit that. I know you're enjoying the sequel, which is a plus!

UniversalAnimeGirl – I owe you a HUGE debt of gratitude! Not only did you send me the transcripts site (and correct my horrible grammar!) but you also reminded me that Rogue's control problems are psychological. Controlling the absorption plays a big part of the fic and without you it wouldn't have happened. So thank you!

XX-Goth-Gal – You are the reviewer who gave me the big head! But I was grateful for every one and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. To be honest I was unsure that anyone would even look at the fic and I'm so glad it was liked. I know you like 'Drowning' too; I just hope it lives up to the expectations raised by 'Manipulating'!

Carol J – Glad you liked! Hope you can check out the new fic :)

DemonRogue13 – I'm so glad you liked! And I know you like the sequel coz you've been reviewing. Hope it's living up to your expectations.

LadyEvils – I'm glad you liked it and I could never really hurt Lance – he's one of my fave characters and I'm a major Lancitty fan! But you're right; every one else has to live with what Evil Jean did. Hope you didn't miss the beginning (I was away until the 8th of August myself).

Furygrrl – 'Manipulating' actually came about when I was trying to find a way to like Evo Jean – I knew I could like her if I found a way around the whole "goody-goody" thing and this was the way I did it. Not only do I love Evil Jean, but now I can imagine her reasoning I can like Good Jean too. And I owe you a thank you too! Not just for reviewing 'Manipulating' and 'Power9', but also for introducing me to Evo-over 18 and a whole new way of looking at fanfic. And for hosting my smut! Anyone else who wishes to check out smut by PB and a lot of other authors who are better at it should click on Fury's biog (find it in the reviews) and search out Evo-over 18. Assuming you're of age, you'll find excellent stuff here.

Wen 1 – I'm sorry, I know you like Jott and there will be some, but it probably won't last long and will be warped :) I hope you don't mind too much.

Enfant-terrible – I'm glad you liked it! And the sequel too – you gave me such a swelled head with the "greatest writer ever" comment, but hell. I love that kinda review! .


	2. Freedom And Captivity

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. I do own pictures of Pietro in a bathrobe. Truly, I am blessed.

**Drowning In You**

The military base in Area 51 had to be well guarded, its reputation as a research base for extra-terrestrials a constant source of speculation to the public. Therefore when the unmarked car drove up to the gates, Lieutenant Cole sighed and signalled for it to stop, expecting another group of UFO hunters. He kept his gun lowered – no point in frightening the taxpayer – but he had both hands on it, ready to intimidate the driver if he refused to leave immediately. It had happened before.

"This is a restricted area folks," he said as the window slid down. "You'll have to – _Major Robson_!"

Lieutenant Cole straightened up and saluted, silently cursing himself. The Major was a very important and famously short-tempered man and he hadn't been expected today, certainly not in a civilian car.

"At ease Lieutenant." The Major eyed the soldier coldly. "Kindly let us through."

"Yes sir!" Lieutenant Cole radioed through to the base and requested the gates to be opened. The Major drove through and parked the car outside the main building of the base.

Colonel Andrews, the highest-ranking soldier on the base at that time, met the car. "Major Robson, sir."

"Colonel." The Major glanced at the building. "I'm here to transfer the mutant to another facility."

"Sir?" Colonel Andrews looked in confusion at the car, unarmoured and unremarkable. "Should I order a convoy?"

"Good grief man, credit me with some intelligence! It wasn't too long ago that a convoy managed to lose one teenage mutant, due to their visibility to their allies no doubt. There must be no repeat of that this time."

"No sir. May I have the papers, sir?"

The Majors companion, a Native American who barely seemed old enough to shave, handed over the transfer papers. Everything seemed to be in order, but the Colonel couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

"Right this way Major." He led the pair into the building and used his security clearance to get them to the lab. "Sir, may I ask why we weren't informed of this transfer in advance?"

"To prevent a breach of security." The Major offered no further explanations and Colonel Andrews didn't know how to inquire further. Silence prevailed as the trio entered the lab and took a good look at the mutant.

The young soldier gasped as he saw the blue-skinned woman strapped to the table. "That's inhumane!"

"Well, she's a tricky one." The Colonel looked more closely at the Majors companion. Sometimes it seemed like the army was taking them younger and younger – or maybe he was just getting old. The thought depressed him.

A group of soldiers took care of the mutant, restraining her with handcuffs and leg irons so that she could walk but was unable to escape. Surprisingly, she made no attempt to escape during the process, merely smirked at them. Her attitude made the Colonel nervous. He took four soldiers with him as he escorted the Major, the soldier and the mutant to the vehicle.

"Is there anything else we can do for you sir?"

"That will be all Colonel."

The Colonel watched uneasily as the car drove out of the base, wondering what it was about the four occupants that made him…

Wait, _four_ occupants?

"Colonel?" Lieutenant Cole saw the expression on his superiors face change from concern to alarm. "Is something wrong."

"Sound the alarms." The Colonel began hurrying into the base. "I think we've been had."

Several miles from the base, the car slowed and Major Andrews tumbled out, followed by a set of handcuffs and leg irons. The vehicle picked up speed again and made its way through the desert.

Mystique massaged her recently released wrists. "It's about time Forge."

Forge steered the car with one hand as he turned to grin at her. "Better late than never. I've had to work on it in secret since Magneto started giving orders at the Brotherhood place. And I had some help."

"So I see." Mystique glanced at the man sat silently in the passenger seat. "Who is he and why is he helping us?"

"He calls himself Mesmero. He can get into peoples minds and make them do whatever he wants – and he has a proposition for us."

=======================

On the psychic plane… 

_The landscape of Rogues mind had been translated as a wasteland; where the sky was the deep blue of late twilight and rocks floated through the air. Jean Grey sat cross-legged on one such rock, or rather her astral self did. Her body was still in the Xavier Institute, apparently in a deep coma from which she may never recover. Fortunately, her mind was elsewhere._

_She told herself she came here to be sure there was no way she could lose control of the body that housed her consciousness. She was almost sure it wasn't to gloat…_

_Several of the rocks carried heavy-looking concrete cubes; rectangular windows set with bars the only means to see in – or out. There were no doors. The prisons themselves weren't necessary of course, were only metaphors, but Jean found that it helped her to visualise what she desired. The outcome remained the same; the other personalities in the body remained trapped – including Rogue, whose mind they were in. The Goth hadn't realised that Jean was able to take control of her body until it was too late._

_"You're back." Rogues voice was dull and tired. Time on the astral plane passed differently. Hours could go by in the blink of an eye or a moment could last an eternity. It sounded as though Rogue had spent too much time imprisoned in her own head._

_"Just thought you might like the company," replied Jean smugly. The only limits on the astral plane were those imposed by the mind. Should Rogue ever work that out, Jean might have a real fight on her hands. The girl might be able to break out of her prison and wrest control of the body. Even if Jean were able to remain the dominant personality, it would be obvious to everyone there was a power struggle going on. So far she had managed to convince the X-Men that she was Rogue, could use her voice and had been able to mimic her mannerisms. She wasn't ready for her cover to be blown. _

_Rogues face appeared at the barred window and Jean prepared herself for the usual barrage of insults and threats. Perhaps even some pleading, she'd enjoy that. She wasn't ready for the girl's words._

_"Ah pity you."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Ah've seen into your mind. Ah know how Mystique and Destiny tricked you and got you to trick the rest of the Brotherhood – and me. Before you used Magnetos enhancer you were just like the rest of us, but you let yourself believe that what you were doing was for the best. And after you used the enhancer, you stopped caring about other people as long as you got what you wanted. Everyone used you Jean, but you let them."_

_Jean glared at her. "Maybe. But now I'M in control. And I'm not the only one who got tricked."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Some of the things I learned from Irene, you have no idea. I managed to keep them from you and trust me, you should be grateful. Some of that stuff would drive you mad."_

_"Ah don't think I've got much to thank you for. And when the X-Men find out – "_

_"They'll never find out! Your precious Professor can't get into your min thanks to you stealing my enhancements. Your own powers turned against you. And they're too trusting to realise you're not in your body…"_

"Rogue?"

=========================

"Rogue? Earth calling Rogue!"

"Huh?" Jean exited the psychic plane and took a moment to gather her thoughts, reminding herself that she was Rogue now, an X-Man – or so everyone thought.

"Oh, hi Scott. Sorry, ah was miles away."

"I noticed. I've been trying to get your attention for ages! Did you forget about Logan's session?"

"Ah guess ah did."

Scott gave her a curious look. "Is everything OK?"

Jean looked down, considering. She had to pull this off just right…

"Can ah tell you something?"

"Sure."

"You have to promise not to tell, not the Professor, not anyone!"

"OK, I promise. What's up Rogue?"

Without a word, Jean took off one of her gloves and put her naked hand on Scott's face. He flinched, expecting to be knocked out. – but nothing happened. Her powers didn't kick in; there wasn't so much as a tingle from her skin. He caught her wrist and gazed at her in disbelief.

"You can control your powers? For how long?"

"Ever since ah touched Jean."

"But – but that's great! Why not tell everyone?"

"Because they're already worried about how mah personality might be affected by her, ah don't wanna give them another reason to worry. And ah don't know if it's because of her personality or her powers or her enhancements, but ah do know that it might not be permanent. Ah just – ah need to think this through. Ah need some time."

Scott nodded slowly. "Alright, I understand. But I still think you should tell Professor X."

"Ah will, but not yet."

Suddenly realising he still had hold of her wrist, Scott coloured slightly and stood up. "We're gonna be late. Logan's already annoyed that Kurt and Lance still aren't up to it. He doesn't like to be reminded that we don't all have a healing factor."

Jean laughed and followed Scott out of the room, a smile playing on her lips. So far, no one suspected she might not be Rogue and the girls mind was safely trapped in her own psyche. When she had invaded Irene's mind she had seen what her destiny should have been and although it was too late for her to be that person, it might not be too late for her to have that life…

_And the first step is Scott Summers._

=========================

The Beast glanced down at his clipboard and then looked up and smiled at the boy sat on the edge of the bed. "Well Lance, I think you're well enough to leave the infirmary."

"_Yes!_" Lances exuberance was marked by a small earth tremor. Beast managed to keep on his feet until the floor stopped shaking and tried to look stern.

"You _will_ have to take it easy for a while. No danger room sessions for a while, no missions. I'd really prefer you to stay here a few more days, but Kitty's been bringing me muffins too."

Lance grinned at the standing joke that was his girlfriends cooking. "Will I be able to take Kitty to the Circus of Mystery tomorrow night? I promised her ages ago but I didn't know if I'd be able to."

"I don't see why not, but take it easy on the stitches. Why don't you go join the others? They'll be out of the Danger Room soon and Kurt's still excused 'til his ribs heal up."

"Thanks Mr McCoy!" Lance raced from the room, Beast watching with a rueful grin as he reflected on the folly of youth before he went to check on the only patient he had remaining.

Jean Greys comatose body lay in a room away from the other beds. Her red hair fanned out around her pale face. None of her vital signs had changed; there was still no sign of any brain activity. Her enhancements made it impossible to tell for sure, but Beast suspected she was in a permanent vegetative state. Brain dead.

_Tragic_ mused Beast as he recorded the machines readings. _So young and misguided, killing a woman and hurting the students, Lance almost died…but I suppose this way at least, she can't cause us any more trouble._

Author Note: Throughout this fic, Jeans consciousness will be referred to as 'Jean', but everyone will call her Rogue because that's whom they think she is. My apologies in advance for any confusion this causes. Also, I know nothing about the hierarchy of the Army so if my descriptions were off, I apologise for that too!


	3. The Mindbending Mesmero

Thanks to:

Lyranfan – Thanks! There will be lots of twisted Jott/Scogue, hee hee!

Furygrrl – I had an excellent time, thanks! Whether or not Jean ends up with Scott, only more chapters will tell…but she will make a play for him.

XXX-Goth-Gal – Of course I remember you, you gave me some of my best reviews! I hope you like this one as much as 'Manipulating' :)

Oceanbang – I tried to describe the Astral Plane like it was seen in the comics. And more Mesmero right here!

X0001 – It's gonna follow the series to some extent too, glad you like it!

LadyEvils – Rogue wouldn't take this kinda thing lying down I'm sure!

Enfant-terrible – Glad you liked it!

King-Cold – Jean's just gonna get more and more evil hahahaha!

Kurrtyscogue – Jean's gonna let Rogue know what she's doing with her body, if just to rub her face in it :)

DemonRogue13 – Glad you liked it!

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. It is the sole property of the magnificent and handsome Mesmero!

Author Note: I've had a few problems posting this chapter. If it looks bad, no spaces or paragraphs or whatever, please let me know and I'll take it down and wait for the site to be altered!

===========================

"Nice weather for it," said Lance as he glanced at the sky. Black clouds were gathered overhead and the wind was cold. "Shoulda asked Storm to sort it out."

Kurt put on his best Ororo voice. "Unless it's strictly necessary, it's best not to upset the delicate balance of nature."

"That sucked," said Evan good-naturedly.

"C'mon Lance!" Kitty pulled at his arm. "I wanna go check out what's here!"

"I dunno Kitty," said Lance with mock seriousness. "If Kurt gets to rescue Wanda from Magneto with broken ribs, then I should be able to try the test-your-strength machine …"

"No way! Mr McCoy'd like, kill me! I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you and that means you have to take it easy."

Kitty dragged Lance away from the group.

"Check that tent out!" Kurt pointed out a poster with a hand painted on it, an eye in the centre of it. "Ze Amazing Mesmero. A hypnotist! C'mon, let's go see if he can make Scott think he's a duck!"

Scott shook his head, smiling. "No way."

"It'll be fun! Help me out here Rogue!"

"Ah don't think so. Ah've had enough people messin' with mah head already."

Evan grinned. "I'll go, but only if he can make _you_ think you're a duck!"

"No way! Ze fuzzy one cannot be hypnotised!"

Scott watched the pair head off and turned to Rogue. "Wanna have a look around?"

"Sure."

Jean had decided to tone down Rogue's look that night – she was so damn tired of looking like a walking corpse. The eye shadow had stayed but the lipstick was gone. She'd decided on black jeans and a purple top, not far enough from Rogues typical look to arouse suspicion but still closer to her own style. Scott was way to straight to appreciate the Goth look and it would have to go in the end.

Briefly, she thought about Pyro. He'd been a lot of fun and surprisingly romantic, although she couldn't take him anywhere in case he set something on fire. The Acolytes would have missed her by now, although if they'd found out what had happened to her, she wasn't aware of it. But that was in the past now. Irene had foreseen her being an X-Man and Scott's girlfriend, a fate that had been stolen from her; she was reclaiming her destiny even if she had to do it as some one else.

"Have you told anyone else about controlling your powers?" asked Scott.

"Not yet," replied Jean. "Ah'm just not ready."

"You're lucky." Scott stared off into the distance. "I wish I didn't have to wear these shades all the time, but there's no chance I'll ever be able to control them. The plane crash left me in a coma and the Professor thinks the ability to control my powers was damaged at the same time. Magnetos enhancer gave me control for the first time and when it blew and the radiation hit us, I felt like I'd been cheated. Sometimes I wish I'd gone with him and Jean and Mystique just so I didn't have to open my eyes and see the world in shades of red anymore."

Jean skimmed quickly through Rogues memories of Asteroid M to find out what had happened after the X-Men had escaped it. "You did the right thing Scott. You saved our lives."

"I wouldn't have done it without you. You did a pretty good job of being my conscience. And the enhancer did one of us some good – if nothing else, absorbing Jean let you touch. I'm happy for you."

Jean gave him a shy smile and Scott looked back at her thoughtfully. He seemed about add something else, but they were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Ray and Amara.

"Hi Scott, hi Rogue." Ray looked to the sky as the first drops of rain fell. "What about this weather, huh?"

"Lousy. Like your timing." Scott folded his arms and pretended to be interested in Rays exploits on the hook-a-duck. Jean zoned out of the conversation, mentally scanning the area. She could sense the person watching her, but they were somehow protected. She couldn't read their mind. There seemed to be no intention to harm her, but there was something malevolent there nevertheless…

"Hey Rogue, did you see what _I_ won on the hook-a-duck?" Amara thrust a fluffy pink chicken in her face and Jean dismissed her concerns. If the watcher didn't try to hurt her, then just let them watch.

===========================

"Rogue, wake up!"

"Whuh?" Jean poked her head out from under the blanket and took a moment to remind herself who she was supposed to be before registering the look on Lances face. "What's up?"

"Kitty's gone! We can't find her!"

"Oh for – wait, I'll scan for her." Jean did a sweep of the building and frowned. "That's odd. She's not in the mansion."

"That's what I just said!" Lance grabbed her arm and pulled her out of bed, too agitated to notice that he'd just made contact with her bare skin without coming to any harm. "We're going to the Brotherhood house, see if they've got anything to do with this. The Professor's on Cerebro…" Lance trailed off and clenched his fists. "If some one's taken her, I'll fucking kill them."

"Go get the jeep. Ah'll be down in two."

Lance ran from the room and Jean pulled on jeans and a long sleeved top, grabbing a pair of gloves from the dresser as she opened the window and flew out, landing beside the jeep as Lance ran out of the mansion and threw himself into the drivers seat. As they sped off, Jean noticed the other students searching the grounds and calling Kitty's name. For a moment she wondered if the girl had run away, then dismissed the idea. Kitty wasn't the type to leave for no reason and she would never have gone without Lance, she was too dependent on him.

Lance did a handbrake stop as they pulled up outside the Brotherhood house and was out of the jeep before Jean could even undo her seatbelt. The ground shook as the boy stormed up to the house and threw the front door open. Jean flew after him quickly, before he got into any trouble. If he got beaten up, no doubt she'd get the blame.

Pietro stood in the hallway, grinning at them. "Lance, Rogue. Get tired of living with those _losers_ and decide to come back?"

Todd hopped out in front of him. "Since when does Dracula's Daughter fly yo?"

Paying no attention, Lance grabbed Toad by the front of his short and slammed him into the wall. "Where is she?"

"GAAAH! Who?"

Lance glared at Todd angrily. "Kitty! What did you do with her…"

Fred lumbered out of the kitchen, grabbed the back of Lances shirt and yanked him backwards. Toad fell to the floor and quickly got out of the way.

"Put him down Blob!" yelled Jean.

"Back off Rogue, or I'll blast ya!" Tabby appeared at the top of the stairs, ready to throw some bombs if the girl moved.

"Why're you here?" asked Pietro.

"We wanna know what you did with Kitty!" snarled Lance.

"And you think she's hiding here?" Toad grinned. "Let's look! Here Kitty. Heeeeeere Kitty-Kitty-Kitty!"

"Knock it off Todd," said Tabby. "She's not here. We haven't seen her since Pietro got back."

"Maybe she took off with Forge," snorted Pietro.

"Wait," said Jean. "Forge is missing? Since when?"

"About two weeks," replied Tabby. "Took all his stuff though. Probably ran away."

"Somebody might have taken them both," said Lance.

"Ah don't think so," replied Jean. "Kitty didn't take anything with her, ah don't think they're related." Jean didn't add that she knew something about Forge and Mystique that the other X-Men, Rogue included, didn't. If Forge was missing, she had to assume he'd freed Mystique.

"Well, she didn't just vanish." Lance stomped toward the door, turning back to the Brotherhood before he left. "If I find that you're involved in this, you're gonna wish you were never born."

Pietro smirked. "Ooooh, we're shaking."

In response, Lance set off an earth tremor that shook the building to its foundations. Toad wailed. "You just had to say it!"

============================

Kitty eyes the gates to the museum, equally as sturdy as the ones at the mansion. Still, no gate was a problem for a ghost. She phased through them and headed toward the main building, passing through walls and alighting the staircase. On the second floor she found what she was looking for. Under the unseeing eyes of the many tribal masks on display, she put her hand through one of the display cases and removed a large ruby ring, which she placed carefully inside a pouch. A noise outside distracted her momentarily – two police cruisers, alerted by a silent alarm. She phased through the floor and then through a wall at the back of the building, slipping away unseen.

================================

Lance burst into the Cerebro room. "The jet's prepped. Let's go."

"There's no point," replied Beast calmly. "After she stole the ring, she obviously left."

"How do you know?"

"Because Cerebro has detected a fleeting use of her powers by the train track. I believe she's on the move,"

"Oh _shit_!" Lance put his head in his hands. "What is going on with her?"

"We'll find her Lance, I promise." The Professor put his hand on the boys arm. "We simply must wait for another lead."

"And when we find it, you'll have to stay at the mansion," added Beast.

Lance looked up in a hurry. "_What_!?"

"You're supposed to be recuperating from your injuries," Beast reminded him. "You'll be no help at all if you end up back in the med bay. Besides, when it comes to Kitty you're not exactly…objective."

The snarl that Lance gave was reminiscent of Logan at his most pissed off.

"We will let you know what's happening," said the Professor.

Lance stormed off to his room, aggravated beyond belief. Sure, his stitches were throbbing like a bastard, but him and Kitty were a team – he'd _promised_ he'd always look out for her and he couldn't do that stuck in the mansion. He debated just taking the jeep and heading down to Boston himself…but Kitty wasn't in Boston anymore. He had no idea _where_ she was.

He brooded on the topic until past midnight, growling at the other X-Men when they came to check on him but brought no news, until he fell into an uncomfortable doze at the end of the bed, still fully dressed.

Jean was awoken when her telepathy detected Kitty's presence in the Institute. Not leaving her bed, she tried to read the girls mind only to find an image, a bald man with facial tattoos.

_Some one ELSE is in her mind!_

For a moment Jean debated waking up the Professor or Lance and letting them know – then she rolled over and went back to sleep. Why spoil the fun?

Kitty wandered the halls of the mansion until she got to Kurt's room. The boy awoke and sat up, looking at her expressionlessly. His abilities would be needed for the next stage of the operation.

=========================

"Professor, wake up!"

Xavier opened the door to his bedroom, seeing Scott outside looking pale and worried. "Now Kurt's gone too!"

"Kurt?"

"Lance is checking security to see if he left through the doors…"

"…But he doesn't have to," finished the Professor grimly. "Gather the others. We need to know where he went and if he's with Kitty."

Scott ran to rouse the other X-Men, only to find most of them already crowded around the Beast as he typed rapidly at a computer keyboard. Ray busied himself at another, searching through pages of information. Lance paced the room; occasionally shooting dirty looks at the large screens. The security system had told him that Kitty had arrived at the mansion during the night but hadn't left through the gates, meaning that she had phased. Or teleported.

Maybe she's run away with him, maybe she's finally realised that you'll never be good enough for her…

He tried to rid himself of the thought, knowing that Kitty would never do that to him and the theft of the ring in Boston proved it, but the idea refused to leave his mind for long.

The Professor wheeled into the room just as Ray grinned at the computer he was working at. "Bingo!"

"What? Where is she?" Lance hurried over and saw Kitty stood beside Kurt in his holographic form on the screen. Their surroundings were busy and businesslike.

"We've got a match on one of the face recognition scans." Ray's voice was serious but he couldn't hide the underlying self-satisfaction.

Xavier glanced up at the screen. "Where?"

"Airport surveillance."

Lance hit the back of Ray's chair. "Where are they going?"

Beast frowned at his computer terminal. "Cross-referencing ticket sales with the exact time that image was recorded – it looks like New York City."

"We're already gone." Lance headed toward the door, only for Scott to grab his arm before he could reach it.

"You can't go," Scott reminded him. "You've only just got out of the med bay."

"_Screw you_!" Lance glared at the team leader. "Kitty's _my_ girl and _I'll_ look after her!"

"And you're both X-Men," replied Scott. "When you're with the X-Men, you're never alone. We'll find her."

"He's right," added the Professor. "Scott and Logan will go after them."

"I _have_ to go! I promised Kitty – "

"She'll be fine," said the Professor. "We'll get to the bottom of this, don't worry."

==========================

In New York City, the streets were quiet. Too late for those leaving the nightspots, too early for the people who worked at the crack of dawn. At the NYC Township Bank nothing moved. Nothing – until a whiff of sulphur announced the arrival of two people in the alley beside the building. A cat hissed and raised its hackles but the pair took no notice. The cat fled as they vanished, a puff of smoke the only sign they had ever been there.

Inside the building, cameras turned to track the movements of the intruders, or tried to. They teleported swiftly, as one motion sensor went to track them they were already gone. A final teleport took them into the vault.

The vault was home to the many safety deposit boxes with which the bank was entrusted. Kitty rummaged around in several of them, phasing her hand through the steel but coming up empty. Finally she put her hand through a box and discovered what she sought, a second ring. She examined it momentarily before placing it in the pouch alongside the first.

A noise penetrated the sanctuary of the vault - an explosion, a large one followed by muffled blasts which signified one thing; company. Kitty and Kurt turned to the door of the vault as it blasted inward, revealing Cyclops and Wolverine behind it.

"Kitty, Kurt, it's us," said Cyclops, trying to placate them. "Take it easy."

Kurt took hold of Kitty's arm and they teleported away without a word.

"Quick, back outside," barked Logan and the pair sprinted back through the bank and onto the street. There was no sign of their errant teammates, although Logan scented the lingering odour of sulphur that marked Kurt's teleporting.

A noise caused them both to look up. Disbelievingly they saw the X-Jet rise from the roof of the skyscraper they'd landed it on and fly away, leaving them stranded.

Logan growled. "This is starting to get me seriously upset."

==========================

"There are three of them," said Beast as he examined the screen. "Early Hung Dynasty if I'm not mistaken. The second ring has been kept in a safety deposit box."

"Hmmm, let me guess," said Xavier, staring into his coffee. "In the Township Bank?"

"Until now."

Xavier fought a yawn. Searching for the missing students was taking its toll on him and Logan still hadn't reported back to them. The other students were asleep, save for Lance who was glaring at the computer as if it had personally wronged him. "Where's the third?"

"Still looking."

The Professor looked up suddenly as his telepathy detected the minds of the two renegade students in the mansion. "Kitty and Kurt. They're here!"

"They are?" Lance raced for the door.

The Professor tried to probe Kitty's mind for a clue about her behaviour – but merely found the image of a bald man with a tattooed face before he was ejected. Grabbing his head he glanced at the door, where both Lance and Beast were vainly attempting to get out.

"The doors," said the Beast urgently. "We're sealed in!"

None of them could see the control panel on the other side of the door, which was a charred, smoking ruin, but the Professor could sense the minds of a further two students under the control of the bald man, leaving the mansion with Kitty and Kurt. Helpless to act, he could only send a telepathic alert to the few remaining occupants of the Institute, asking for their help.

===========================

"Is that the guy you saw in Kitty's head?" asked Jean as she looked up at the picture on the screen. She knew the answer of course, but she didn't want him to know that.

"It is, Rogue," replied the Professor. "Now I'll have Cerebro scan its mutant profiles to find a match."

"Don't bother," said Lance from behind them. "I know that face – the Mindbending Mesmero. He was in Bayville last week with that Circus of Mystery I took Kitty to."

Professor Xavier frowned. "Then we need to attend their next engagement."

At the computer, Beast stopped his frantic typing. "Professor, the last remaining ring? It resides in Washington DC."

"No way am I staying behind this time," said Lance.

"You're in no condition to go on this mission," replied the Professor sharply.

"If anyone can talk sense into Kitty, I can!"

"She can't break free of this mind control without the aid of telepathy."

"I'm not staying here while she – uh!"

Jean slipped the glove back on while the Professor and the Beast stared at her and at the boy crumpled at her feet. "We don't have the time to argue with him. Ah know ah shouldn't, but he'll be fine in a while."

"We'll discuss it later," said the Professor, hiding his worry. "Let's go."

==============================

"There they are!" Scott pointed to the four figures on the ground. Apart from the four X-Men the area seemed deserted.

"Try to keep them occupied," said the Professor as he brought the Velocity down for a landing. "I've got an appointment with a mutant named Mesmero."

"Ah don't like this," lied Jean as she undid her seatbelt. "They're our friends!"

"We just gotta subdue 'em," replied Logan as he headed for the exit. "No one has to get hurt."

"Yeah?" Scott looked at their expressionless opponents. "Try telling them that."

The rain began falling as Beast began a lazy gallop toward the group, picking up speed as he got closer. Kurt stepped forward and scurried up a flagpole, Beast chasing him. Kurt tackled the teacher and they fell. Before they could hit the trailer below, they teleported to the roof of a tent, then to the ground.

"Come on Kurt," said the Beast urgently. "Don't fight me!"

Evan shot a bunch of spikes at Jean and she backflipped away to avoid them, grateful for Rogues agility. Evan chased after her, shooting more spikes as he advanced.

"Rogue! Look out!" yelled Scott.

Jean dodged a few more spikes and telekinetically deflected the others. But there were so many of them, it was impossible to avoid them all. She found herself backed up against a trailer, two pikes flying toward her head. Before she could use her powers to knock them away, a red beam obliterated them. Jean watched as Cyclops turned his gaze on Evan, blasting the ground beneath him and throwing the boy into the air. Evan landed heavily, all the fight in him gone. Victory was short-lived however, the earth beneath Scott's feet churned and spat up scalding-hot chunks of dirt and causing a minor earthquake.

Amara stepped forward, untouchable in her Magma form. She discharged more lava bolts at the ground around Scott, causing him to fall. Jean threw the girl across the field with her TK, not worrying about being gentle. The younger girl collided with Xavier's wheelchair, knocking it over and shocking Amara back into normal form, which was fortunate for the Professor as she landed on top of him. Cursing under her breath, Jean headed over to them.

Logan could smell Kitty nearby, but not see her. He knew she was close – then she rose from the earth like a ghost and looked at him blankly. Logan popped his claws and snarled menacingly, but she didn't even flinch and he sighed and retracted his claws.

"You know I could never hurt ya…"

Without warning, Kitty kicked him in the shin. Hard. Ignoring the mans yells and curses she phased through him and walked away as Logan grabbed his leg. "This is why I _don't_ like to play nice!"

Xavier struggled out from beneath Amara's inert body and saw Kitty heading for Mesmero's tent. "Kitty, stop! Fight it! I'll deal with Mesmero, just don't give him what he wants!"

Kitty didn't even look at him.

Jean ran up behind her. "Oh no you don't!" She put an ungloved hand on the girls face and triggered Rogues powers with a grimace. Absorbing Lance had shown her that the process was unpleasant, but if she was going to pass as an X-Man after everyone had seen her do that then this was something she had to do. "This ain't gonna be easy on either of us…"

Taken by surprise, Kitty threw the pouch containing the three rings toward the tent before succumbing to unconsciousness. She slumped against Jean who stepped backward and let her collapse into the mud.

"…But mostly you." Jean shook her head in wonder. She was still astonished at the speed Rogues powers left the victim helpless.

Behind her there was a chuckle. She spun around to find Mesmero standing there, the pouch in his hand. She hesitated for a moment, wondering what to do.

"Mesmero!" said Xavier. "You may have been able to control their minds, but can you handle mine?" He unleashed a psychic blast and Mesmero held his head, staggering backwards before recovering.

"You have no idea who you're messing with Xavier."

The psychic blasts Mesmero let loose knocked the Professor flying. Jean had a sudden jumble of images in her head, something about Egypt and time and a sensation of immense power – then it was gone and Kitty was moaning, beginning to come to. Jean knelt to help her up.

"What's going on?" she asked in confusion. "How'd we end up here?"

"Sure," growled Logan, massaging her injured leg. "Now you're all better."

Scott helped the Professor back into his wheelchair while Jean used her TK to tear the tent apart. "Hey!" she said, startled to see no sign of their opponent. "Where'd he go?"

Beast addressed the Professor. "Are you alright? Did Mesmero hurt you?"

"Not Mesmero Hank." The Professors tone was grim. "Mesmero was just another puppet, like the students. There was some one else pulling the strings, a mind more powerful than anything I've ever encountered."

Logan frowned. "What could he possibly want with those rings?"

"I don't know – but I doubt we'll like the answer."

================================

Author Note: I'm aware that the programme hinted that Jean was the only one who was under Mesmero's control and she used her telepathy to coerce the others. But because it wasn't expressly stated I'm choosing to believe that he actually hypnotised them all.


	4. Revelations From The Wild Side

Thanks to:

Enfant-terrible – glad you like it! And there's more action in this chapter.

Furygrrl – Rogue will be back in a couple of chapter! Although how she fares against Evil Jean is yet to be decided…

X00001 – glad you liked it!

Oceanbang – I won't be covering Cruise Control or X23 simply because they're kinda superfluous to this fic. Dark Horizons on the other hand? Just wait and see!

KurttyScogue – just when I think I can't make Jean any more evil, something els occurs to me!

Wen1 – some one'll notice that Rogue isn't Rogue soon!

Rogue14 – there will be a take on Self Possessed, but it won't be too much like the episode!

XX-Goth-Gal – let's just say that Rogue will be out for revenge!

DemonRogue13 – it would make more sense for Mesmero to control all the X-Men rather than getting Jean to control them, I'm glad you agree!

Ripdos AKA The Bad Ash – I'm glad you liked Power9 so much and if you send me an address I'll see what my twisted little mind can come up with!

LadyEvils – I think Evil Jean would _love_ to have Rogues powers! And there's more OTT Lance here.

Author Note: I decided that the Brotherhood needs wheels. And hey, it's a canon car! This is a seriously long chapter BTW, so grab yourself a drink and a snack before you start.

Disclaimer: X-Men: Evolution is the property of Marvel comics. Anyone else claiming ownership is committing a crime, for which I will send the Sirens over to their place, wearing very small leather outfits, to kick their asses!

==============================

Jean tried to keep the smile on her face and the yawn off her lips as she supervised Amara's early-morning training session. Why she had earned a punishment at all was a mystery to her. Sure, she'd absorbed Lance, but he'd been causing trouble and she'd saved them all time by avoiding the pointless argument about whether or not he was healthy enough to go after Kitty. Lance himself had almost forgiven her; he was so relieved to see his girlfriend. The Professor on the other hand had decided that a lesson about valuing team members was in order and told her she would be Amara's mentor from now on. The man was so transparent. He was obviously hoping that not only would Amara learn from her, but also maybe in time the pair would become friends. Since the departure of Jubilee and Rahne, Amara had been the only girl in the New Recruits and at times had felt very isolated. Kitty had tried to be friendly, but she was always too involved with Lance, her best friend as well as her boyfriend, to allow the two to become too close.

"Remember, focus your concentration. Don't let your powers control you. I know it's difficult, but try to maintain your discipline. OK, ready?"

Attempting to keep her expression friendly, Jean dislodged some rocks from the walls overhead and held them in place telekinetically to form a rough bridge over the chasm. "Now melt them together."

"If this doesn't work, I'm not taking the blame," said Amara sulkily, obviously not a morning person. "I told you I wasn't ready for this."

The younger girl utilised her powers, using a stream of lava to melt the rocks together. Jean was considering commenting on what a whiny little brat she was being when there was an interruption from her comm.-link.

"Rogue? You there?"

"Scott?"

"The Professor wanted me to remind you what time it is – you can't be late for school."

Jean rolled her eyes in aggravation but managed to force a laugh. "Ah got it covered. Listen, we're just finishing up her last training exercise." She turned off the link-link and addressed Amara. "Now let's see how you did."

She stepped onto the bridge, fully expecting the girl to have screwed up and the bridge to crumble beneath her feet, but it held firm. "Not bad," she admitted grudgingly. "Just one little crack."

Amara pouted. "Then the session was a failure."

"Not at all!" Jean was aware that Scott was still watching, the only thing that stopped her shaking the whinging girl. "Learning how to handle things that go wrong is part of the training. You just need to repair it. Ah'll keep us safe."

As Amara stepped further onto the bridge, Jean finally gave in to her urge to teach her a lesson and used her telekinesis to dislodge a boulder from above them. It hurtled downwards and Jean feigned surprise. "Amara, melt that boulder back into place!"

"I-I'll _try_." Amara aimed a lava bolt at the boulder but missed. With a smirk, Jean caught the projectile with her telekinesis inches away from Amara's head.

"Got it," she said, relishing the fear on the younger girls face…but it was short lived as a second later the boulder exploded, showering both of them with chips of rock.

"You guys OK?"

As soon as she heard Scott's question, Jean was able to work out what had happened. The leader had blasted the rock in a pathetic attempt to rescue her, in spite of the fact that she'd already caught the boulder.

Scowling, Jean floated herself and Amara out of the hole. They were both covered in dust and she just knew there were pieces of rock in her white-striped hair, just one more thing to worry about in the short time she had to get ready for school. "Scott, what'd you do _that _for?"

Scott didn't even notice her anger. "It's a good thing for you girls I was here. No need for thanks! That's what we heroes do, rescue damsels in distress."

Jean glared at him for a moment, her anger too great for the words to be spoken, unable to believe his attitude. Spoiling her fun and then patronising her about it! Furious, she turned and stormed off, Amara following her lead.

As they headed for the elevator Scott followed them, obviously not understanding why they were upset. "What?" he asked several times. Both girls ignored his bleating as the trio rode the elevator up until Jean realised that if she didn't give him an explanation she might undo all the work she'd done to ensnare him. Also, she could sense the thinking lurking in his psyche…

_PMS _

…And if he decided to voice it, she was gonna squeeze his brain until it leaked from his ears and to hell with her plan.

"But what did I _do_? Tell me!"

"Alright." Jean stopped and turned to face him. "You were being a – a _guy_!"

"Oh. Uh…I'm sorry?"

"Scott, ah was _trying_ to teach Magma how to handle things that go wrong, which does not include waiting for some big, strong _man_ to save you!"

She went into her room, slamming the door behind her. As if she didn't have enough problems already. She had to pretend to be some one else, imitate an accent she didn't have, conceal her mind from Xavier, keep Rogues psyche imprisoned, dress as though she was in mourning and follow all the rules at the Institute without complaint. She certainly didn't need Summers treating her like some fragile, hysterical creature.

She was beginning to think that posing as an X-Man had been a mistake.

=================================

"Hey Amara."

Amara did a double take as she saw Tabby drive up in the sleek silver SUV. "Whoa! Where did you get that from?"

"Pietro's new wheels. You like?"

"Yeah! But won't he be mad when he finds out that you took it?"

"Come on, live a little." Tabby leaned over and opened the passenger door. "How 'bout you and me go on a mall crawl? We'll get in touch with our shallow teenage values."

"I dunno. I mean I probably shouldn't be speaking to you…"

"Says who, Badger? And it's just the mall. What could happen?"

"Well…OK, sounds like fun!" Amara climbed into the vehicle and fastened her seatbelt while Tabby checked her look in the mirror.

"So, how's life with the Geek Squad?"

"OK, I guess. I got hypnotised by this weird bald guy a while ago and Bobby keeps saying it's because girls'll believe anything. He's joking, but at the same time he isn't, y'know? And I kinda messed up my training this morning. Rogue's been pushing me too fast and even though I tell her I'm not ready she says…"

"You mean Miss 'The Whole World Hates Me'?" Tabby laughed and pointed to the school where Kitty and Jean were deep in conversation. "Girl, you don't need to take that. I didn't."

Kitty was frowning, not a usual look for her. "I'm getting really tired of it Rogue. He hasn't stopped following me around since the whole Mesmero thing. He barely lets me out of his sight, like he thinks I need protecting or something. I just wish he'd give the whole macho act a rest."

Secretly delighted to hear about Kitty's disillusionment with Lance, Jean tried to look sympathetic. "Ah'm sure he's just concerned. He's trying to look out for you – although he _was_ at the circus with you and couldn't stop it then."

"Exactly! So why – wait, isn't that Amara with Tabitha?"

"Oh yeah."

"Shouldn't we like, do something before she gets into trouble?"

"Yeah." Jean was getting steadily more pissed off with Amara. Was that her role in the X-Men, glorified babysitter? If it was, Xavier could take his team and shove it.

"Scott!" Jean shouted as she saw the boy come out of school. "We need your car. Amara's with Boom-Boom and ah wanna stop her before she does something stupid."

"Gotcha. I'll go get her." Scott twirled his car keys around his finger before noticing the irritated looks the girls directed at him and hesitated. "Not that you're not capable of doing it yourself. Which you are. Look Rogue, about this morning, I didn't mean –"

"Ah know you didn't. It's just – "

"Hey Pretty-Kitty," said Lance, walking up behind them. "What's going on?"

"Amara set off with Boom-Boom," replied Kitty. "We're like, going after them."

"No, you wait here. I'll go. Scott'll take you home."

"Lance!" Kitty looked stunned. "Don't you think I can do it?"

"Sure, but you'll just waste time trying to reason with her. I can tell Tabby to back off in a way she'll understand."

"You – you _lughead_! Y'know, I just don't know what I'd do if I didn't have _you_ around to make my _decisions_ for me!" Kitty snatched the keys from Scott, grabbed Jeans hand and stormed off.

Scott whistled and Lance shook his head. "Glad she took your keys!"

Tabby brought the SUV to a halt behind another car at a stop sign, singing along to the radio. Two boys on a bench at the side of the road leapt up and ran to the car in front, one of them opening the drivers door and pulling out the owner, dumping him on the road. They jumped into the car and the girls watched in shock as they drove away.

"Did you just see that?" asked Amara.

"Did I!" said Tabby. "Hang on!"

Amara wailed as Tabby hit the accelerator and raced after the stolen car. "Tabitha! Slow down!"

"Forget that!" laughed Tabby. "This is _way_ more fun than shopping for shoes!"

The carjackers sped up, making turns at random to try to shake off their pursuers. Unfortunately for them, Tabby was unconcerned with either speeding tickets or the damage she was doing to Pietro's suspension.

Kitty spied the SUV as Jean drove. "There they are!"

Jean saw the car and the vehicle they were chasing, realising what was about to happen. The joyriders were bearing down on a woman and child, frozen to the spot as the spot as the car rushed toward them. She used her telekinesis to stop the car dead, throwing the men into the dashboard. The woman grabbed the wailing child and hurried away.

The car sped away again – stopping two tons of speeding metal with her mind had been no picnic and Jean had no interest in catching them anyway. Not until she saw Pietro's SUV chasing the car, Amara waving from the passenger seat.

"Rogue, we have to stop her!" said Kitty.

_I don't remember her being this bossy when we were with the Brotherhood_ thought Jean irritably, driving after the other two cars.

The chase went into the back streets where there were no spectators. Tabby scowled as the coupe began to pull further ahead. "They're getting away from us! Amara, quick – melt their tyres!"

Amara produced a ball of lava and threw it at the car. It melted their back right tyre, a second ball hit their left and a third broke the rear window. The car spun out of control, skidding to a halt in an empty building yard.

"And here's your dessert, meatballs!" Tabby hurled a bomb through the broken window and the thieves leapt from the vehicle as it exploded, blowing out the rest of the windows.

Before the men could make their escape, a pile of cinderblocks floated into the air and surrounded them, forming a wall. Amara and Tabby stared in wonder at the sight before turning to see Jean and Kitty sat in a nearby wall.

"Rogue?" Tabby said in confusion. "Since when did you have telekinesis?"

"It's a long story."

Remembering what they'd been doing, Tabby let out a whoop. "That was awesome! We bagged the baddies and recouped the coupe!"

"Yeah," said Jean sarcastically. "Ah'm sure the owner'll be real grateful."

"Come on," said Kitty, hearing sirens in the distance. "Let's let the police handle it from here."

===============================

"The suspects are part of a larger car-theft ring operating in Bayville…"

Jean, Kitty and Amara sat in the kitchen, relieved that no one seemed to have realised that the mysterious good Samaritans were mutants. "Uh, listen, I think we oughta just like keep this to ourselves, y'know?" said Kitty, her voice pitched low so that Scott couldn't overhear.

"Right," agreed Amara as the three of them left the room, Scott watching them curiously. "It's not like we'll be doing anything like _that_ again."

Jean smiled as she heard the cry of alarm from the kitchen, followed by a thud. Scott had defiantly noticed her as more than a teammate and being a vigilante appealed to her in a way that being an X-Man didn't.

_That's what being a mutant should be about. Kicking ass! _

_ ======================_

"C'mon Wanda, it'll be fun!"

"No way."

Tabby sighed in exasperation. "What's the point of having these powers if we can't have a little fun with them?"

"You had fun with them yesterday when Toad was in the shower. The carpet's still soaked."

"Like you never hexed Toad. You know you wanna kick ass girl, this is the way to do it!"

"With the X-girls? Father won't like it."

"Who's gonna tell him? Besides, you know Pietro's less likely to get all stressed about his car if you're in it."

"I don't think…"

"Just come hang out at the mall with us. They're not so bad."

"And the next time we have to fight against them?"

"That might never happen. One mall-crawl Wanda, get away from all the testosterone 'round here."

Wanda sighed and glanced around the Brotherhood house, a testament to all things male. "I guess one shopping trip couldn't hurt."

"Woo-hoo!" Tabby began dancing around the room and Wanda rolled her eyes, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

=============================

"Look at this junk," growled Lance, throwing the newspaper down on the table. Scott examined it, vaguely grateful that it hadn't landed in his mashed potato. He'd often thought that school meals tasted like newspaper but he had no desire to make a valid comparison.

The lead article was on the Bayville Sirens – again – and he skimmed through the details of their latest exploits. It was the last paragraph that caught his eye.

'The continuing success of the Sirens has led to speculation that the all-girl crime fighting team may be mutants. This theory has gained support partly due to the captured criminals themselves, whose statements include reports of explosions, strange blue lights and objects floating through the air. Police Chief Rothman refused to comment on these rumours, but at a recent press conference he vowed to end the Sirens vigilante activities.'

"The press have realised that the Sirens may be mutants?" Scott frowned at the newspaper. "Not good."

"Especially when we have a good idea who they are." Lance looked over to where Jean, Kitty and Amara were sitting, laughing amongst themselves. "We're lucky that they didn't remind the readers that half of the mutants 'round here live at the Institute. If they drag up the footage of the Sentinel thing, they might be able to ID them. The descriptions here are pretty vague, but it only takes suspicion before we get cops knocking at our door."

"Can't you ask Kitty what's going on?"

"Nah, she's still giving me the cold shoulder, says I'm overprotective." Lance chose to ignore the look that Scott was giving him, which suggested he agreed with Kitty.

"There are five of them," mused Scott. "I'd lay money on Wanda and Tabitha being the other two."

"Hi guys." Kurt slammed his tray onto the table and took a seat. "What's going on?"

"Kurt, cancel your plans for tonight," said Scott, a slight smile on his face. "We've got a little secret mission to take care of."

============================

"Blue Boy to Tracker One. Do you read me? The pigeons are leaving the roost."

"We're right here Kurt." Lance wondered briefly if he was doing the right thing – after all, Kitty was pissed at him for exactly this kind of behaviour – then dismissed his doubts. What if she ran into trouble again? "And why're you talking like that?"

Pietro's SUV pulled up outside the gates and Tabby bibbed the horn cheerfully. In the passenger seat, Wanda elbowed her in the ribs.

The three X-girls exited the Institute and the boys ducked low in the jeep. But no matter how well they hid, they couldn't disguise their psychic imprints from Jean. She could just make out the jeep hidden in the shadows and smirked. Let them follow. The Sirens could lose them soon enough.

She waited until they were away from the mansion to draw attention to the situation. "Uh, ladies, we've got company!"

"Not for long." Tabby gunned the engine and began to pull away from their pursuers.

"They're getting away!" Scott leant out of the passenger window, trying to keep the SUV in sight. "Can't this heap of yours go any faster?"

"Shut up Summers," growled Lance, coaxing more speed from the vehicle.

"Man, I knew we should've taken my wheels."

"Shut up Summers!"

A flashing light up ahead warned the girls that a train was crossing. Jean realised that they had a chance to lose the boys. "Kitty, phase us through!"

"I'm on it!" Kitty grabbed onto the side of the SUV and concentrated. Tabby didn't let up from the accelerator for a second and the vehicle shot through the train and arrived safe on the other side. The girls whooped in triumph.

The jeep screeched to a halt, forced to wait for the train to pass. Lance slammed a fist against the wheel. "Oh _shit_!"

===============================

"We have _got_ to find a better place to change," grumbled Wanda.

"Hey, relax Witchy," replied Tabby breezily. "No one's gonna believe that toll-booth guy!"

Ahead of them, a man left the engine of his car running as he got out to buy a paper. It proved to be a mistake; in the few seconds his back was turned another man jumped into the drivers seat and drove it away. The owner chased after it, shouting. "Oi! My car! He's stealing my car!"

"Alright," said Tabby, flooring the accelerator. "They're playing our song!"

The SUV closed the gap on the stolen car briefly, but as they went over a hill and into the warehouse district of Bayville, the vehicle disappeared from view. Wanda pushed her shades up. "Where are they?"

"Whoa, this is too weird," said Kitty. "They just vanished!"

"Maybe not," said Jean, pointing to an illuminated garage with the door just closing. "Look!"

Tabby parked the SUV out of sight a few buildings over and the girls hurried back to the garage, Kitty phasing them through a wall and inside. They hid behind a pile of tyres, surprised by the large number of people in the building. The men were busying themselves with several cars, welding and hammering, joking amongst themselves.

Peeking out from behind the tyres, Tabby gasped. "It's a chop-shop! They're tearing apart stolen cars for parts!"

"Then this must be the base for the car theft ring," said Jean.

"Glad you could join the party girls."

The Sirens turned to see a burly blonde man, obviously the gang leader, backed up by a mob of pipe-and-chain-weilding thugs. "We've been expecting you."

"It's a trap!" exclaimed Wanda.

Kitty groaned. "That is _so_ weak."

"Didn't your mother teach you not to pick on girls?" asked Amara as the men advanced.

"Oh yeah," replied the boss with a smirk. "Yeah, too bad I never listened to her."

"Well guess what meathead?" Tabby grinned as the Sirens adopted fighting stances. "She was right and here's why."

The Sirens felled the first few thugs with martial arts kicks and chops. One man got too close to Kitty and she phased through him and threw him to the floor. Jean used her TK to repel two aggressors, one of them knocking over a can which spilled oil across the floor. A third grabbed her around the waist and she triggered Rogues powers, the skin contact rendering him unconscious. Another man swung a pipe at Wanda's head, only for it to apparently bounce off thin air and hit him in the face. A chain swung at her glowed blue briefly and disintegrated, the mans momentum causing him to stumble and fall.

Standing on a pile of tyres, Tabby realised she was surrounded. Relishing the chance to use her powers, she opened her hands to reveal a large number of bombs. She blew them at the attackers and the men fled as she spun around, cackling maniacally and causing explosions all over the garage. Stray bombs detonated inside partially rebuilt cars and one hit a propane tank, raining fire on the fighters. Jean looked around her, enjoying the scene just as much as Tabby was, but when she caught the girl's eye she tried to look stern – Rogue would defiantly not approve of such a high profile escapade. Tabby shrugged, but stopped her hi-jinks.

On a landing above the chaos, Kurt teleported in with Lance and Scott. The three looked down to see small fires burning unchecked, unconscious carjackers sprawled around the garage and the Sirens preparing to take down the few remaining thugs.

"Come on, what are we waiting for?" asked Kurt, preparing to join the fray.

"No, wait." Scott caught his arm. "I think we'd better let the girls handle this."

"It's not like they need our help," added Lance as he gazed at Kitty kicking a thug in the back of the head, looking like she was enjoying herself.

_I'd forgotten how good she is at kicking ass…how good it makes you feel…and how good she looks when she does it!_

Wanda and Tabby tied an unconscious thug with a length of chain, not noticing as the boss tried to sneak away. Kitty ran past them, Jean and Amara making a spring out of their hands for her to leap on and then toward the boss, snatching him by the head and flipping him into the trunk of a car. Amara slammed the trunk shut, exchanging grins with Kitty. None of them noticed a can roll into a fire, flames racing up the trail of oil it left in its wake toward the car they'd imprisoned the boss in – but an optic blast knocked the vehicle out of the way.

Scott glanced sheepishly at the other boys. "You, uh, didn't see me do that."

Jean smirked to herself. She had picked up on the boys psyches as soon as they teleported into the garage and she was the only Siren who realised what had happened.

Summers still playing hero? I can use that… 

"Girl power," grinned Tabby as she chained up two more goons. "Don't you just love it?"

"Alright, fun's over!" A cop stormed into the garage, shining her flashlight into their faces.

Amara looked at her in confusion. "But we're the good guys – or rather girls."

"I know _exactly_ who you are. You're vigilantes who take the law into your own hands – and you're under arrest."

"Oh yeah?" Tabby adopted a fighting pose. "If you know who we are, then you know to stay out of our way!"

"No!" Kitty grabbed her shoulder. "We're not gonna fight the police."

"Smart girl."

As the cop examined the carjacking gang, Jean tried to get into the cops mind – and failed. She frowned, confused. She was a little out of practice, she couldn't alter the minds of the students at the Institute in case the Professor noticed, but she should still be able to read thoughts. The cop was a psychic blank. She'd met only a few people with such strong mental shields, Xavier, Magneto…and Mystique.

_Isn't this a surprise? Why is she here now? _

"Looks like you put a stop to their little enterprise. Good work." The cop shone her light back at the Sirens. "Uh look, I'm probably gonna lose my job for this, but I'm gonna let you go."

The Sirens smiled in relief. "Really?" said Kitty. "Cool!"

"But only if you _promise_ to stop what you've been doing, and I mean now. It's either that or I take you in."

_So that's what you want_ thought Jean as the other Sirens pouted. _To split the Sirens up. And I'll bet it's got something to do with Rogue. But I'll play along …for now._

"Deal." Jean gave the cop a cheesy thumbs-up, hoping the woman picked up on the sarcasm.

If she did notice, she didn't comment. "That leads to a sub-basement which should take you down to the city sewers. Now get going."

"You got it," said Jean, wondering if the shape-shifter realised that she wasn't Rogue. "And thanks."

The girls ran toward the stairwell, Kitty pausing for a moment. "Uh, by the way their boss is in the trunk!"

The three boys watched as the cop exchanged a few words with her superior, who had arrived just as Kitty got out of sight, then teleported.

Having fooled Chief Rothman, Mystique blended into the shadows and morphed back into her blue-skinned self, smirking. If Rogue was indeed the key to her future, as Destiny had predicted so many times, then the girl did not need the security of the X-Men or the camaraderie of the Sirens. She needed no one but her mother. However it might not be as easy as she had first thought. Rogue no longer seemed isolated and bitter as she had with the Brotherhood, in fact her confidence bordered on cocky. But change was coming and Mystique would not let Rogue suffer from some tiresome sense of duty or righteousness.

_She took care of that bitch that murdered Irene and it's my turn to thank her for it._

_ =========================_

The next night, Lance was alone in the rec room watching TV when Kitty walked in. His heart skipped a beat. There hadn't been a chance to speak to her alone since the cop had put a stop to the Sirens activities and he still had no idea if she'd forgiven his over protectiveness.

Kitty sat beside him and smiled, offering him some of the popcorn she was eating. He took a handful and wondered how to broach the subject of reconciliation.

"So, uh, what you been up to lately?"

"Lance, we _know_ you were following us," said Kitty. "And uh, thanks for not coming to the rescue. I guess we took the whole 'girl power' thing a little too far." She laughed. "Sure was a blast though."

"I bet." Lance rested an arm on the back of the chair behind Kitty, the classic nonchalant pose adopted by teenage boys since the beginning of time. "I'm sorry they made you quit."

"Yeah, but y'know, it did feel great to help people with our powers and be appreciated for it. Made a change."

"You kicked ass Pretty-Kitty! And you looked really good in that uniform."

Kitty laughed. "I thought you liked looking after me."

"Well yeah, but if you're gonna go all dominatrix-ninja-heroine on me, I guess I could learn to live with it."

Smirking, Kitty dropped the popcorn and pounced, pushing Lance onto his back and pinning his hands to the couch. "Are you sure? Because I still have the outfit…"

Jean withdrew her presence from the couples minds before things could get too icksome and lay back on her bed. Life without the Sirens would be dull, but it had been distracting her from her true objective – to get back the life Mystique had stolen from her. Unfortunately, if the life she should have had didn't get more interesting in a hurry, she'd have to consider if she still wanted it or not.

Thinking about Mystique made her remember the previous night. Why had the woman interfered? And did she know what had happened to Irene and to Jean herself? At the moment, Jeans only advantages seemed to be that the shape-shifter didn't know she was posing as Rogue and that she knew Mystique was free.

Suddenly, Jean decided she'd had enough pf worrying and sat up. There was nothing she could do about Mystique right now but thanks to Lance and Kitty, she had an idea how to proceed with the rest of her plan.

Leaving her room quietly, she went down the hall and to Scott's room, knocking at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

"Hi Rogue, come in."

She went into Scott's room, not surprised by its neatness. Scott was sat up on his bed, reading a book. "So, what's up?"

"You were following us last night."

"Well, yeah." Scott put his book on the nightstand, looking uncomfortable. "We were worried the press might link the Sirens to the Institute."

"It crossed mah mind too."

"Is that why you made the cop tell you to quit?"

"Huh?" 

"You got into the cops mind and got her to let you go didn't you?"

"Uh, yeah. But ah've never used Jeans powers like that before, ah swear!" _Oh you LIAR!_

"It's OK Rogue. I know it was an emergency and it's good that you can use Jeans powers like that."

"Ah guess. But it's hard. As soon as ah think ah've got used to these new powers, ah find out something else ah can do. And ah'm afraid…"

Scott regarded her. "Afraid of what?"

Jean sat down beside him and sighed. "Ah'm afraid of turning out like Jean, abusing mah powers and getting people to do whatever ah tell them to…"

"Whoa, wait!" Scott put his arm around her. "Rogue, you're nothing like Jean and you never could be!"

_Got that right_ thought Jean as she gave Scott a shy smile. "But what if – "

Scott stopped her with a kiss.


	5. Keys

Thanks to:

Furygrrl – Glad you liked the change in line-up! And I always wondered how Jean could be so cheerful with Amara acting like a whiny brat.

Oceanbang – I like feisty Kitty! And Rogue/Jean might not find life with Scott all she thought it would be…

Kurttyscogue – The warped Jott/Scogue will be lasting for a while yet, hee hee!

X00001 – Glad you liked it!

LadyEvils – Lancitty rules! And Mystique's back in this chapter.

Lyranfan – Scott's a lucky dude all right! But I dunno if his luck's gonna last…The PMS thing, I just had to put that in there.

Rogue14 – Always good to know I can still surprise!

XX-Goth-Gal – Kitty was really quiet with the Brotherhood, I just wanted to go back to it before she started being all feisty and leather-clad!

Raphaella – Glad you're enjoying it, and hope that this one is equally addictive!

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution.

============================

_"Mutant ball!"_

What started out as a simple game of baseball had rapidly descended into chaos. Beast had given up trying to referee the game and had let the students do as they pleased. Most of them were using their powers to gain an advantage, a practise that had already cost six balls, two bats and about a third of the pitch.

_Make that two thirds _thought the Beast as an earth tremor demonstrated how Lance was defending second base. The ground was still for a moment, then another tremor indicated that the play had not been a success.

Lance stalked off the field and hit the benches, Kitty joining him a second later. "C'mon Lance, don't be such a grouch!"

"They should make a 'no flying' rule," grumbled Lance. "I'd have had Rogue out otherwise!"

"Hey, we managed 'no powers' for an entire inning, what more do you want?" Kitty looked over to where her striped-haired teammate was celebrating with Scott.

Lance followed her gaze. "Do you think Rogue seems…different these days?"

Kitty frowned. "Sure, but that's only to be expected. She's been through a lot. We all have."

"That's not what I mean." Lance frowned, trying to put his vague suspicions into words. "It's more like a _personality _thing. She never used to be so quick to use her powers…"

"This is about her draining you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, kinda. She wouldn't have done that when we were with the Brotherhood."

"When we were with the Brotherhood she wouldn't have moved without Jeans say-so. She just did what she thought was for the best. I mean, you're not exactly the easiest person to reason with when you're upset."

Lance tried to glare at her, but couldn't hold the expression. "I was just worried about you. And what if Jean's still giving the say-so? I mean, not from the coma or anything, but what if Rogue picked up her personality?"

"That's ridiculous! It's been so long now, we'd have noticed something by now. She's picked up a few little habits, but she's nothing like Jean."

"I guess not." Lance looked over to the game, the pitch looking more like a crater than a field. Scott had just been declared out and was trying to look disgusted, but he couldn't hide the smile. Rogue was saying something to him and to Lance, they seemed flirtatious in a way they never had before.

"Do you think – y'know, Scott and Rogue?"

"You're serious?" Kitty laughed. "Even if they like each other, they couldn't do anything about it."

"I know, it's just…"

A shadow fell over the pitch and everyone paused to look up at the newcomer. Scott frowned, shading his eyes. "Angel?"

"Whoa!" Kitty gazed across at the man. "Is that the guy you met in New York?"

"Yeah," replied Lance, scowling. "He's not that great. So you can just reel your eyes back in!"

=============================

Jean was trying to concentrate on her book, but her thoughts kept drifting back to what had happened in London. She was sat under a tree outside the school, trying to enjoy her free period relaxing, but the events of the last few days refused to leave her mind.

They'd gone after the second half of the spider stone only to find that Magneto had taken the Acolytes to get it too. Jean had gotten a nasty shock to find her up against the only team she'd ever been on where she hadn't felt the need to control them.

"Oh look, we got X-Men," Pyro had growled, looking straight at her. Jean realised that they knew what had happened to her – and they thought she was Rogue too.

"And I think they wanna play!" Gambit pulled out a couple of playing cards, charging them with kinetic energy and for the first time ever, Jean froze. Scott pulled her out of the way before she could be set on fire and she'd managed to pull herself together and fight. When Mesmero had joined the stones and unleashed a giant green spider on the streets of London she'd once again fought beside the Acolytes, preferring their incautious, over-the-top methods to the X-Men's attempts to subdue the arachnid.

_I was happy with them…and I blew it._

Pyro had been spontaneous, fun to be around, happy to let others take charge. Scott however was uptight, predictable and any romantic gestures on his part were self-conscious and awkward. Maybe in another life Scott would have been the one for her, but she couldn't share dreams of a better future or his moral outlook on life.

Which left her in a dilemma. She'd acted out the role of Rogue too well – if she just took off, the X-Men would come after her and if she went back to t he Acolytes they'd probably blast her before she could explain to them who she was.

Her musings were interrupted when she sensed a familiar presence nearby.

_Mesmero._

She got to her feet and tracked the presence, realising that the man was lurking under the bleachers. She went to confront him, hoping to take him by surprise.

"Hello Mesmero."

Far from seeming surprised, Mesmero turned and smirked as though he'd been expecting her. "Hello…Jean."

Jeans eyes widened. "Ah – ah don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh really? You've hidden yourself well. Even the great Professor Xavier doesn't suspect the truth. But Apocalypse knows."

"Apocalypse again." Jean glared at the man. "What's your angle? Why are you here?"

"The X-Men will never stop Apocalypse. He will rise again, but he will not forget those who are loyal. I am here to give you the chance to serve him."

"Serve Apocalypse?" Jean laughed. "Why would I? And why would he want my help anyway?"

"Rogues powers are needed. She is the key to freeing Apocalypse. And since you have Rogues powers…"

"I get the picture."

Jean scowled. _Rogue again! Why does everything always come back to Rogue?_ "So what's in it for me?"

"Apocalypse has great plans for the future. To be part of those plans is an honour."

Jean thought about it. She'd been thinking about leaving the X-Men anyway and being part of a new world order did sound promising…

"What do you want me to do?"

=================================

On the astral plane… 

_It had been days since Jean had checked on Rogue, convinced that the girl was safely trapped. It was with some alarm that she found the walls of the prison crumbling. Rogue had obviously been trying to fight back._

_Jean concentrated on repairing the damage before speaking. "Hi Rogue. Trying to escape? Naughty naughty. It won't work y'know. Might as well give it up."_

_She took her usual position, sitting cross-legged on a rock, unsurprised when Rogue refused to answer. She played with a strand of the long red hair that her astral self retained and she missed so much posing as Rogue. _

_"I've been having a good time with your friends. We went to London at the weekend…oh, and I've been dating Scott."_

_Rogues face appeared at the barred window. "You leave him alone you bitch!"_

_"What's wrong? Afraid I'll break his heart?"_

_"Ah'm not gonna let you. I WILL get control back!"_

_"Not unless I want you to. And right now, I don't. Anyway, gotta go. I've got a date tonight, with Scott."_

_"NO! You come back here right…"_

_ ======================_

"Kurt, wake up! Everyone's overslept!"

"Just five more minutes?"

Kitty phased her hand through the duvet and pulled Kurt out. "We're gonna be late for the last day of school!"

"No way!"

Still brushing her teeth, Kitty passed through the door, down to the ground floor and ran into the kitchen. She walked straight through Scott on her way to the cereal and the boy glared after her before turning his attention to where Jean stood in the doorway, watching the panicky preparations with disdain.

"Hey Rogue. You gonna stand there all day or do you want something to eat?"

"Ugh. Ah think ah'm gonna pass on breakfast this morning."

She walked away from the kitchen, allowing herself a grin. _Morons. Don't even wonder why they're all up late today…_

"What are you so happy about?"

"Huh?" Jean glanced up to see Lance looking at her curiously. "Oh, just happy it's the last day of school. And you and Scott are graduating! You must have _some_ good memories, aren't you even a little bit excited?"

"Not really." Lance seemed puzzled by her attitude and Jean hurried away, silently cursing herself. Rogue would never be excited about something school-related, except maybe an explosion. It wouldn't be long before she could drop the whole goody-goody X-Man act, but in the meantime she couldn't arouse suspicion. She had too much to lose.

She managed to act natural as Scott drove her to school, stealing a kiss when no-one was looking – she'd persuaded him to keep the secret about her powers being under control just a little longer – but when he'd gone to class she doubled back and left the school. A limousine waited for her at the side of the road and she got inside. They drove away, undetected.

==========================

"Just because we've drawn a truce doesn't mean I've forgotten what you did, murderer."

Jean smirked at Mystique. Those were the first words the shape-shifter had said to her since picking her up outside the school. They'd gone over to the Brotherhood house and most of the way back in silence. It sounded as though Mesmero had clued her in on the situation of her dual identity and didn't like it.

"Calm down Mystique. She stole my life, I stole hers. Fair exchange. Anyway, if you hate me so much, why are you here?"

"I'm here to secure my future, and Rogues. Irene might be dead, but Rogue isn't. I want her back."

Mystique couldn't read minds like she could, remembered Jean. It sounded like the man had fed her a lie and she'd fallen for it. Jeans job was to make sure Mystique didn't lose her illusions. The truth would come out soon enough.

_Because I LIKE having these powers – and Rogue's never coming back._

"We're back at Bayville High," said Forge nervously from the drivers seat. He'd seen first-hand how angry Raven had been upon discovering Destiny's death and he wasn't sure that a deal with Mesmero or the thought of Rogue would stop her if Jean pushed too far.

Jean got out of the limousine and headed into school. Now that the X-Men and the Brotherhood had all been 'collected' there was only one more group to go…


	6. Darker Horizons

Thanks to:

UniversalAnimeGirl – Welcome back! Yes, the idea for Jean being able to control Rogue's powers came from you reminding me about Carol Danvers being able to do so, and I'm very grateful! And the Mystique/Rogue/Kurt thing is coming up soon… Self Possessed will come up before the Apocalypse thing. I think Mystique worked with Mesmero just because it seemed like a good idea and she's under the impression that it will help Rogue somehow. Mesmero's a liar!

Steph14Wales – hope you have more luck with the other chapters now!

Furygrrl – The Acolyte confrontation is right here, plus more of the (Pyean? Jyro? What the hell is that pairing called anyway?) Jean romance you like! Well, maybe not romance, but similar. On a related note, I've been working on a Jeance one-shot which may be posted on Evo-over 18 when I've finished.

LadyEvils – Lance is smarter than most people are willing to admit. I think so anyway. It can be kinda hard to make Evil Jean seem to have any other emotion than evil glee, so I'm glad you like her missing the Acolytes!

X00001 – The wait is over! Well, sort of, it's never that easy with this fic, hee hee!

Kurttyscogue – I think Jean just sees Apocalypse as a way out of the X-Men, but she's going after the Acolytes anyway!

Psycho88 – You might not have to wait too long for your wish!

Raphaella – There will be a Mystique/Jean confrontation and it might not be what you'd expect, at least I hope it is!

Lyranfan – Scott-trampling imminent! Ascension 2 will be different from the programme, but that's all I'm giving away! Oh, I'm evil.

DemonRogue13 – I thought Lance would be suspicious because she drained him and because he's known her for a lot longer than most of the X-Men. I don't think his suspicions will do him any good though!

Rogue14 – Old Poxy Lips, as I used to call him, is gonna give Jean good reason to reconsider. But will she change her mind?

XX-Goth-Gal – At one time I didn't really like AU until I read some excellent ones and did a total U-turn on them. Now they're my favourites! And Leech will turn up.

Oceanbang – The entire fourth series will be very different thanks to Evil Jean. And the fight with the Acolytes is here!

Enfant-terrible – You've given much such a swelled head! But thank you! And I'm gonna continue writing the fic 'til the bitter end…incidentally, I just read part 3 of you're 'do you love Pietro too much?' fic with St. John and I can honestly say that 'fire resistant' isn't a statement, it's a challenge! But I was unable to review it for some reason.

Author Note: _{There's a lot of this in this chapter. It's thoughts. Telepathic knowledge. It'll all become clear, well I hope so anyway.}_

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. I don't even own my own personality anymore – Jean stole it from me!

It was raining hard when the limousine pulled up outside the Acolytes lair. Jean had gained the information about its whereabouts and layout from Pietro's mind and knew there was only one way in undetected…

"The window."

Silently, Mystique offered Jean her hand and the girl triggered Rogue's powers, leeching her morphing abilities. Jean paused briefly, fighting the wave of self-loathing that stemmed from Mystique's hatred of her, before transforming into an owl and flying into the base.

The first person she saw was Sabretooth. Quickly she changed back into Rogue and used Logan's powers to knock him off his feet. He leapt up with a roar and grabbed her arm – which was uncovered. A moment later Sabretooth was left in a crumpled heap.

A chuckle from behind her made her teleport an instant before she was engulfed in flames. Pyro laughed as she reappeared and he got her in his sights, aiming the flamethrowers at her.

"I've been waiting a long time for this. I'm gonna barbecue you for what you did to Jean."

"St John, wait!" Jean dropped the accent and used Mystique's powers to change Rogue's body into her own form. "I-it's me!"

"_Jean_?" Pyro paused before he could throw fire at her and gaped. "But…how?"

"It's been me all along." Jean approached Pyro cautiously. "When Rogue stole my mind, I took over her body and infiltrated the X-Men."

"Blimey, that was awful bold of you." Pyro wrapped his arms around her and grinned. "So, you've come back to flick my bic?"

"Uh, not exactly." Jean put her lips to his and triggered Rogue's powers with some regret. She was still rather fond of him.

A slow handclap from behind her startled her into breaking the kiss. "Bravo chere."

Jean let Pyro fall as she turned and morphed back into Rogue. Gambit had always been rather taken with Rogue she remembered, meaning it was the best appearance for the confrontation. She headed towards him, holding her hand out to drain his powers.

"Looks to me like Rogue's up to no good, but hey, I like that in a girl." Gambit tried to stop Jean with his staff, which she batted away contemptuously, continuing to advance.

Gambit backed away. "Only thing is you're not alone in your head are you?"

Jean lunged at him and he leapt onto a crate behind him. "So who are you? Rogue – or Jean?"

Bored of the conversation, Jean picked him up with her TK and bounced him off a couple of walls before letting him drop. She leapt onto him but he was too fast for her, getting his staff between them and keeping her at bay.

"See if you can guess," she hissed before he threw her off. She hit the floor and kept going, using Kitty's phasing powers and leaving Gambit wondering where she'd gone. A moment later, she rose through the floor behind him and as he turned, she kissed him. He sank to the floor, out of the fight.

_Hmmm, _she thought critically. _Pyro's better._

Magneto walked in and glanced at his fallen Acolytes, Sabretooth, Pyro and Gambit sprawled across the floor. Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the base for movement but saw nothing.

"Where are you Rogue?"

He walked further into the room, past the unconscious Gambit…

_Huh?_

Magneto realised the incongruity a second too late. The second Gambit leapt up, morphing into Rogue as she rested a hand on his face.

Job completed, bridges well and truly burned, Jean wiped the Acolytes minds, turned into an owl and left the same way she came in.

"Lance, stop _pouting_!"

"Well I feel like a jerk."

"You look very handsome."

"I'm wearing a dress!"

"It's not a dress, it's a robe. And you should be proud, you graduated!"

"Thanks to the Prof and Mr McCoy's extra tuition." Lance tried to adjust his mortarboard and Kitty slapped his hand away.

"I'll just be glad to get out of here," said Scott, who also felt like an idiot in the robe but was wise enough not to mention it.

"Scott!" Jean smiled teasingly, trying to forget that under other circumstances she too would be graduating. "You can't tell me you don't have at least _some_ good memories?"

"Let's just say I won't be buying the yearbook."

Jean laughed. "Are you _ever _gonna lighten up?"

"Yep. One minute after graduation."

"I can't wait," added Lance.

"C'mon Rogue," said Kitty, shaking her head in wonder that the two boys weren't more excited. "Let's go sit with the others. And Lance, if you don't stop fidgeting with that robe, I won't give you your graduation present!"

The two girls headed over to where the Professor and Storm sat on the bleachers with Kurt. Kitty's smile faded as she looked up at them. "Ororo still seems sad since Evan went off with the Morlocks."

"He'll be back," predicted Jean. "Live in a sewer or a mansion? Ah know what ah'd choose."

Scott and Lance took their places among the other graduates, most of whom ignored them. Lance cleared his throat, wondering how to approach a delicate subject with some one he didn't get on with too well. "So, uh, you and Rogue seem, uh, close."

"That obvious huh?" Scott blushed a little and smiled. "Yeah, we're dating. But Rogue doesn't want anyone to know yet until she's told – uh, it's not my place to say anything. But we're gonna tell the others soon."

At that moment Principal Kelly took the stage and prevented Lance from replying, but his mind was working overtime. Rogue was dating Scott and she had something to tell them? The look on Scott's face had given away more than he would have wanted it to, giving Lance a good idea of what the secret might be.

Rogue can control her powers? Since when? And why hasn't she told anyone about it?

_Something is very, very wrong…_

"Welcome." Principal Kelly looked out at the graduates. "I think back to the first time I spoke in front of you. Change was the theme then and it has never been more important than it is today. So, as you go out into this rapidly changing world, it is essential that _you_ take control of your futures. You many look across from you and see students who have certain advantages over you. Don't be deterred. Any disadvantage _can_ be overcome. You _can_ prevail. We _can_- oh, no."

The assembled students turned to see Magneto floating across the field, accompanied by the Acolytes and most of the Brotherhood. Principal Kelly dived behind the podium as the screaming students fled the field. Scott and Lance fought their way through the crowd and Lance had the time to wish he wasn't about to face the enemy wearing a dress.

Jean decided to slip away in the chaos. If Magneto was here, there was a strong possibility that she'd been found out, although she had no idea how, and she had no desire to blow her cover at that moment. She'd almost gotten away when a sudden strong wind surrounded her, the world seemed to blur and she found herself facing the Acolytes.

_Pietro. Great._

A magnetic pulse lifted several of the steel chairs recently evacuated by terrified students and they began whirling around her. She looked straight ahead, wondering how the hell she was going to get out of this one.

The Professor wheeled himself onto the field, surrounded by the other X-Men. "Magneto, explain yourself!"

"The girl is under Mesmero's control Charles! She attacked us to absorb our powers and then wiped our minds with his powers to cover it up."

_Under Mesmero's control?_

Jean began giggling, unable to believe that the mighty Magneto had got it so wrong. Giggles turned into laughs and the other mutants stared at her, not understanding her mirth.

"Oh Buckethead," she grinned. "I'm not under anyone's control – but Rogue's under mine…"

She used Mystique's powers to change into her own form, relieved to look like herself again. Having Rogue's powers had been fun but looking like the Goth had been a pain in the ass. She was sorry in a way that she'd been found out, but she'd known it would happen sooner or later, probably sooner since she'd began leeching powers from the others. Now she had been found out, she intended to have some fun taunting the X-Men.

"I told you so!" said Pyro.

"Jean?" Scott stepped forward, fists clenched. "What have you done with Rogue?"

Jean laughed. "Summers, you are _so_ gullible."

"I knew it!" shouted Lance. "I _knew_ something was up. It's been you all along!"

"Yeah, it was." Jean smirked at Lance through the barrier of steel chairs. "And you ought to thank me."

"_Thank_ you!" Kitty glared at Jean, hands on hips. "You pretended to be Rogue, did goodness-knows-what to her and you expect us to be _grateful_? You're unbelievable!"

"Without me, you wouldn't have what you have now, any of you! Isn't that right _Lance_?"

The psychic wave hit Lance before he could respond, driving him to his knees. The future that Destiny had seen for him without Jeans interference flashed through his mind.

_{…you're with me now…}_

_{…no, I'm not…}_

_{…the pointy ears are starting to work for me…}_

_{…you and me got a date Pretty-Kitty, how about a ride on the concrete coaster…}_

_{…lousy ride loser…}_

_{…right I can totally see us walking 'round the mall together…}_

_{… what makes you think I'd even…}_

_{…would you like go to the dance with me…}_

_{…Kitty I want you to leave…}_

_{…the real you…}_

_{…nothing but a hood…}_

_{…never be good enough for you…}_

_{…won't talk to you at all…}_

_{…she won't even go near him…}_

Kitty ran over to Lance and dropped to her knees beside him as he covered his ears and closed his eyes in a futile attempt to keep the images out. "Leave him alone you bitch!"

"What did you do to Rogue?" Scott had one hand on his shades, ready to blast her.

"I already told you Summers. It was me all along! I've been in control ever since Irene's funeral."

"Let her go!"

Jean smirked at Scott's fury. "You want her back? I'll set her free – but I don't think you'll like it when I do."

_On the astral plane…_

_Rogue glanced around her in amazement as the walls of her prison began crumbling, She touched the wall and it disintegrated beneath her fingers._

_"I'm free!"_

_She floated upwards, barely noticing the other, smaller jails around her, which were also beginning to break apart, jails that had previously contained some of the secrets that Jean had kept from her._

_"Free, I'm free, I'm…"_

"…Free."

As Rogue took back control of her body, it reverted back to her own appearance. She blinked, glancing down at her hands as if to prove to herself that she was no longer discorporeal.

She had just enough time to wonder why she was stood within a cyclone of steel chairs on the football field in front of the X-Men, Brotherhood and Acolytes when a wave of previously suppressed knowledge washed over her, information that Jean had taken from Destiny and absorbed from Mystique.

_{…who Risty really was…}_

_{…MONSTER! What have you done to him…}_

_{…we cannot lose her, especially not to Xavier…}_

_{…was it worth the loss of your son…}_

_{…used me to spy on the X-Men…}_

_{…adopted you when you were four…}_

_{…alvays knew I vas adopted…}_

_{…trust me Rogue…}_

_{…who Mystique really is…}_

Rogue staggered, overwhelmed by the facts she'd only just learned, putting her head in her hands. She was vaguely aware of Scott shouting her name and the metal chairs that circled her…

_{…lying in the aisle of the church, she touched his face…}_

She repelled the chairs with a magnetic pulse of her own, her shape changing until she was Magneto's exact double. The other mutants backed off in a hurry, using their powers to avoid being hit. Principal Kelly pulled his head behind the podium just in time to avoid being beheaded by a steel chair aimed at the stage with lethal force.

The real Magneto squared up to his imitator as the others looked on.


	7. Possession and Excorsism

Thanks to:

Enfant-terrible – I just had to use the "flick my bic" quote, I love it!

Oceanbang – I hope the image flow works as well in this chapter, it was kinda difficult.

Furygrrl – I'm having fun with the mini-romance with Jean and Pyro! And Jean might have made a mistake…

DemonRogue13 – Yup, this is the 'Self-Possessed' chapter.

Kurttyscogue – Lance does owe his X-Man status to Jean and know he knows it, it might come back to haunt him…

UniversalAnimeGirl – Yeah, Jean got sick of using the accent, it wasn't an author cock-up at all!! ::Grins hopefully:: Thanks for letting me know about the spelling and grammar problems, I've redone the chapter with all the changes made. I knew my punctuation was bad but I can't believe I mis-spelled 'Principal' four times! I'm mortified. Jean's still around, causing trouble! And I'm glad you like the twisted romances.

Rogue14 – I could never forget 'Self Possessed', it was my favourite episode in series 3 (up until Toonami decided to play the 'Dark Horizons' episodes and call it the start of series 4, couldn't tell you why they did that!)

X00001 – The answer to that is, uh, not long!

LadyEvils – Lance will be feeling the fallout from Jean's revelations for a while. And I'm hoping to work in more Pyro/Evil Jean romance, I'm having fun writing them!

XX-Goth-Gal – Rogue's going up against the Bucket Man right here! (Bucket Man, I love that) And as to where Jean's gone, all explained in this chapter!

Lyranfan – Glad you liked the snippets, and Jean's whereabouts are revealed right here!

Author Note: I worked really hard on this chapter and my computer crashed and lost huge chunks of it! I hope it lives up to expectations. I've kinda skimmed over certain parts of 'Dark Horizons 2' because you all already know what happens in those parts! And this is another one of those really long chapters. Grab yourself a coffee before you start.

Disclaimer: Seven out of ten voices in my head tell me that I don't own X-Men: Evolution.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Rogue! Fight it!"

Scott didn't want to believe what he'd been told. It couldn't be Jean he'd fallen for, it couldn't be…

Magneto used his powers to lift more steel chairs, hurling them at his doppelganger. Rogue teleported, appearing behind Magneto in Wanda form

_{…lifted the girl off her feet and touched her face…}_

and knocking him off his feet with a well-aimed hex-bolt to the back of the helmet. Blob ran at her with a roar and Wanda's slender form began to widen and grow.

_{…party's over and lights out…}_

Too late to stop, Blob crashed headlong into Juggernaut and was thrown aside.

"Calm down Rogue!" Scott began to approach her slowly. "We want to help you."

_{…lying in his bed, a slight groan as she stole his powers as he slept…}_

"Hey big shot, better help yourself!" Scott found himself looking into his own face and wished he hadn't attracted her attention as she blasted him with an optic beam, knocking him across the field.

"Don't attack her!" yelled the Professor. "I can help her if I can get into her mind, but we need to reason with her, we don't want to hurt her!"

"Speak for yourself." Sabretooth leapt at her with a roar, only to be deflected with another optic blast.

_{… asleep, one arm around Kitty, must have snuck in after lights out…}_

Rogue changed from Cyclops to Avalanche, triggering an earthquake that knocked the other mutants, Brotherhood, Acolyte and X-Man alike, to the ground. Trying to get back to their feet proved an impossible task on the shaking ground. Suddenly, Avalanche morphed back into Rogue and the earth stopped moving as the girl fell to her knees.

"Help me…"

"We will Rogue," said Scott. "Just try to stay calm."

"We're your friends," added Kitty.

The words had an immediate effect on Rogue, who looked like she'd just been slapped.

"Ah have no _friends_."

_{…grabbing her wrist in the cemetery…}_

As the other mutants began to get to their feet, Rogue morphed into Storm and rose into the air, the sky turning black and lightning hitting the football pitch. Everyone looked up nervously, then as they were pelted with driving hail they began to run.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the astral plane… 

_Jean smiled as she travelled through Rogue's psyche, confident that she would be able to once again usurp the girl. Indeed, as she saw Rogue stood on a rock, tears running down her face, she was able to summon the walls once again, the concrete flowing around the girl like liquid. Rogue screamed in rage at having been taken by surprise a second time, but was too late to stop herself being imprisoned again._

_Jean smirked. Time now to take over the body, find Mesmero and Mystique, travel to where Apocalypse was buried…_

_Something was wrong._

_Frowning, Jean tried again to exit the psychic plane and was unable. With Rogue imprisoned, there should be no one to stop her taking control. So why couldn't she?_

_"I'm taking over!" _

_Startled, Jean saw Gambit stood on a floating rock. Of course. She'd not only released all the knowledge she'd been keeping concealed, but all the personalities she and Rogue had absorbed. _

_"Over my dead body," she snarled at him. _

_"That can be arranged chere."_

_Realising too late she'd made a mistake in freeing Rogue, taken her gloating too far, Jean prepared herself for a real fight for control._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Storm was trying desperately to counter the way Rogue was using her powers, realising she'd never been in such a situation before. She hoped she never would be again. She could think of only one way in which she could take Rogue down and she just hoped that the girl had enough of Logan's healing factor to recover.

A well-aimed lightning bolt hit Rogue/Storm and she arched her back, falling from the sky. She landed on her knees on a football field that had become a mud puddle under the torrents of rain and sleet.

_{…snoring softly, sheets knotted around his hips, one arm thrown above his head…}_

Even as she began to stand again she was changing form. With an inarticulate cry of rage, Wolverine went for Storm.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Dodging Gambit's initial attack, Jean jumped to another rock, only to be blasted off by an optic beam. She regained control in mid-air, flying back up and glaring at the team leader._

_Most of the personalities were standing around, unsure what to do. Jean knew she wouldn't have to worry about most of them, that she could defeat them by using the landscape of Rogue's mind against them. _

_She noticed that at intervals one of the assembled would seemingly vanish, only to reappear stunned shortly afterwards, then another one of them would vanish in their place. She had no idea what was happening to them, but she guessed that the disappearing mutant was taking control of the body. That had to be driving the X-Men crazy, one X-Man in particular…_

_"Sorry lover," she said to Scott, not really sorry at all as she once again summoned concrete walls to flow from the rock on which Cyclops stood and imprison him. As metaphors went, it wasn't bad. It worked for her anyway._

_"You won't get the rest of us that easily!" Lance concentrated his powers on the rock she was stood on and Jean flew into the air, summoning the concrete to surround him. If they all used only their mutant powers her job would be easier, she could just turn their surroundings against them._

_Her only advantage was that she knew how to turn the psychic plane to her advantage and they did not. The exception to that was the Professor and she couldn't see him anywhere. He had to be somewhere though. She'd absorbed him herself. If he got control, he would no doubt drive out all the other personalities. Apocalypse would never be free._

_Neither would she._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Storm was completely unprepared for the attack and was knocked to the ground under Rogue/Logan's weight. She debated a lightning bolt, but knew she'd probably injure herself.

"I don't know who you are, _bub_, but you're going down!"

The real Logan barrelled into his imitator, having been summoned to the scene by the Professors telepathy. He pinned the double to the ground and popped his claws, preparing to strike…

"Logan, NO!" yelled Scott. "It's Rogue?"

"Rogue?" That would explain why he couldn't catch her scent, realised Logan. Claws still out and arm raised to strike, he hesitated. Rogue/Logan lashed out at him, throwing him off and leaping backwards, changing form in mid-jump…

_{…phased through the floor and kissed him…}_

"Merde!" Gambit gaped as Rogue took on his form, putting a hand in her pocket and pulling out a stack of playing cards. With an idle flick of her wrist, she threw the cards at the mutants and they were forced to once again back off as they exploded. A stray card hit the wooden podium and Principal Kelly fled as it burst into flame. The pseudo-Gambit smiled when he noticed…

_{…come back to flick my bic…}_

Rogue began to change form again, the sly smile turning into a wide grin as she took on Pyro's appearance. The flames shot at the three teams, the real Pyro forcing the flames away from the Acolytes and Brotherhood, the X-Men forced to get out of the way. Storm summoned a burst of rain to douse the flames and Rogue/Pyro had time to pout before being knocked to the muddy ground once again, this time by a kinetically charged playing card.

_{…getting to his feet and grabbing her uncovered arm…}_

On her hands and knees, Rogue's body began to widen and grow, a snarl emanating from deep in her chest. It was Sabretooth who stood up and charged.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Jean had found it quite easy to imprison several of the personalities in Rogues head, the younger, less tenacious ones for the most part. It was the older ones, the Acolytes, Magneto, Storm and Professor Xavier that were causing the difficulties._

_Xavier wielded a scythe and shield, trying to defeat her. Jean bore a shield of her own and for the most part managed to deflect his attacks. She knew Xavier would free Rogue if he won, maybe imprison all the other personalities and leave Rogue no longer plagued by the minds that were not her own. That would be a disaster for Jean's plans. She'd screwed up royally, but no one would ever have to know if she could just defeat the other personalities…_

_As Xavier flew at her with another attack, Jean changed tactics. Instead of concrete walls, she envisioned vines bursting forth from a nearby rock and a moment later, it happened. The vines wrapped themselves around Xavier's legs, curling further up his body and pinning his arms to his sides. The Professor was a mass of leaves in a few seconds, only his eyes and nose visible through the foliage._

_Pyro was next, not putting up much of a fight. He had no idea how to work on the psychic plane. Gambit used the same technique there as he did in the corporeal world, but Jean knew how to control the very landscape and soon turned the knowledge against him, soon securing him in a concrete room._

_Storm flew at her, eyes pure white. Quickly, Jean levitated a rock directly in her flight path and the woman crashed headlong into it, falling in a daze to a lower rock. Jean found it easy to manipulate a cell around her, taking perverse pleasure in the woman's screams as she realised she was to be trapped in so small a space._

_A series of metal cables sprang forth seemingly from nowhere, snatching at Jean. She envisioned herself a scythe similar to the one the Professor had used and began hacking at them. Magneto, had to be. He was nothing if not predictable with his themes. Always metal._

_She could see the man floating in mid-air, his eyes glowing behind the helmet, more intimidating here than he was in the flesh. Fortunately for her, Jean knew all the tricks and refused to be cowed. Hacking at the cables he controlled, she decided to fight the trick with the same one that had captured the infinitely more capable Professor. Vines sprung out from the cell that kept Roberto trapped, the one that Magneto was closest to, pulling the man backwards and pinning him to the side of the prison._

_Jean knew that she couldn't hope to keep all of them trapped for an infinite amount of time, but that was OK. As long as she could contain them for a few more hours, she wouldn't need to worry about it after that. _

_Now there was only Sabretooth to watch out for. Although there was one person she hadn't seen yet…_

_"Hello there, murderer."_

_Jean turned and smirked. "Hello. Fancy seeing you here. Are you gonna let me take over the body so I can get on with the plan, or do you have something else you wanna say?"_

_With a cry of rage, Mystique flew at Jean, knocking the girl off balance. Jean fell backwards and Mystique landed on her, going for her throat._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Kurt watched the scene on the football pitch in awe. "Sabretooth versus Sabretooth – it's like a video game!"

No one could tell which was which anymore. Rogue as Sabretooth had leapt at the Acolytes and the real Sabretooth had slammed into her, knocking her sideways and the pair had rolled in the mud, biting and clawing at each other.

The Professor frowned, his fingers resting on his temples. "It's no good. She still has the enhancements…I can't get into her mind to erase the other personalities."

Scott watched in amazement as one of the Sabretooth's knocked the other almost ten feet across the pitch. "It's like every person she's ever absorbed is fighting to take over."

"We just have to hope that Rogue can take over rather than Jean reasserting control," replied the Professor. "But I doubt we'll be that lucky."

"We just have to get through to her," said Scott, running towards the fray. "I know I can get through to her!"

_If there's still a Rogue to get through to_ thought the Professor grimly.

"Rogue!" Scott tried to work out which Sabretooth was his girlfriend. "Rogue, please, you have to fight back! You can't let those others push you around!"

He was rewarded for his efforts with snarls from both fighters. The fallen Sabretooth began to get to his feet, his body starting to change, becoming more feminine. By the time she got to her feet, she had taken on yet another form.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_There was no attempt by either woman at using their powers to win. This was a catfight, pure and simple._

_Jean snatched at Mystiques hair, trying to force the woman up and off her. Mystique retaliated by grabbing Jeans head and slamming it into the rock beneath them. Jean managed to push her foe upwards enough to roll over and straddle the woman, grabbing her by the throat and squeezing. Mystique was the stronger though, forcing Jeans hands away and pushing her backwards. Both of them forgot that they were on the astral plane. All they were thinking of was each other and revenge._

_Jean got to her feet before Mystique could continue her attack and flew at the woman, trying to force her over the edge of the rock. Mystique caught her, slamming the girl onto her back and using a few well-placed kicks to reduce Jean to a writhing heap. _

_"I told you you'd pay for what you did to Irene." Mystique knelt beside the girl. "You're not needed to keep Rogue under control any more. I can take it from here."_

_She bounced Jeans head off the rock one more time for good luck and proceeded to take over._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

"Guess who's back."

The assembled mutants looked on in shock as Mystique stood before them. They knew it was really Rogue, but as Mystique looked around scornfully, it seemed as though she was making herself comfortable in the girls skin.

"Mystique!" The Professor tried to appeal to her good side. "You must set Rogue free. You'll only hurt her by remaining!"

"You know so little." Mystique looked contemptuously at him. "I'm doing less harm than Jean would. And now I'm leaving."

"You'll have to go through us first." Scott spoke for all the X-Men, who had surrounded her and were preparing to fight.

Mystique grinned. "That suits me just…uh!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Jean lifted her head from the rock, fury coursing through her veins. Mystique wanted to take over, did she? Well it wasn't going to happen. She'd be dead before she'd let Mystique beat her._

_She had one advantage over the shape-shifter – she knew how to work the psychic plane to her own advantage. The only reason she'd been defeated was because she'd allowed herself to forget that._

_Noticing a stunned Sabretooth lying on another rock, she manipulated concrete walls to flow around him, the same way she'd trapped most of the others. Then she gathered herself and used her mind to drag Mystique back into Rogue's psyche._

_"You thought you could beat me?" Jean imagined the liquid concrete in the same way she had for all the others and it flowed over Mystique's body, not so much a prison as a body bag. The woman was still disoriented from her sudden ejection from the corporeal world and she had no idea how to use the landscape to her advantage as Jean did. She struggled as the liquid solidified around her, trapping her, binding her tightly and leaving only her nose free. Jean knew this wasn't the time to test if she would lose Mystiques powers if she suffocated the woman's personality in this place._

_"No one can beat me, you silly bitch." Jean smirked, preparing to leave the astral plane the victor. "I'm back where I should be. In control. And I'm gonna stay in control, so the rest of you need to get used to it."_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Mystiques form morphed once again, the skin turning pale and the hair darkening, until Rogue was once more stood on the field.

"Rogue!" Scott hurried toward her. "I knew you could do it!"

"Ah…ah…"

As Scott had almost reached her, 'Rogue' laughed and changed into Jean. Scott halted in his tracks.

"I just couldn't resist seeing the look on your face again Summers. You're pathetic."

Jean flew into the air, sparing one last glance at the three groups of people that she had called her friends at one time or another, the people she had used and discarded, and then left the scene. She had another appointment to attend.

Xavier realised that she had to be stopped. "Logan, track Rogue."

"Got it."

Magneto eyed Gambit and Sabretooth. "You two, go with him."

"No!" Sabretooth clenched his fists at the thought of co-operating with his arch-nemesis.

"I don't need their help," snarled Logan.

"Logan, you two must put it aside," said the Professor sharply. "There's too much at stake!"

Gambit smirked as Wolverine and Sabretooth growled at each other. He had the feeling he'd have to split up at least one fight before they found the girl.

X x x x x x x x x x x x x X

The journey to Tibet took hours and was uncomfortable to say the least. Mystique was silent for the most part and Jean glared at the back of her head, still smarting from the beating she had taken. The only good part was that Mystique would have no idea what had happened in Rogue's psyche. Mesmero smirked evilly, his expression making Jean nervous. Forge sat beside Mystique, obviously as unnerved by the bald man as Jean was.

They rode the limousine to the airport, abandoning it and stealing an aeroplane for the rest of the journey. Mystique acted as pilot, she and Forge locking themselves away in the cockpit and leaving Jean alone with Mesmero in first class.

"You'd better not be messing with me," Jean told him in a low voice. "You look far to pleased with yourself."

"Do not trouble yourself." Mesmero glanced towards the cockpit and smirked. "It's not _you_ who's going to get the surprise."

Jean could sense the truth in his words and yet wasn't comforted. She was beginning to feel as if she wasn't in control of the situation, as though she was missing something very obvious.

Apocalypse had better not forget it was me who helped him, because if he does I'll pull his brains out of his nose and see how well he does at establishing a new world then.

It was snowing and windy when they landed in Tibet and Jean groaned, grabbing a jacket that Forge silently offered her. Neither Mystique nor Mesmero bothered and Jean wondered how Mystique never caught a cold. And they still had a mountain to climb. Wonderful.

They were about three-quarters of the way to the top when Jean realised they were being followed. Three people. She probed with her mind and found Wolverine, Sabretooth and Gambit on their tail.

"We've got company," she told the others.

Mesmero paused and used his powers on their pursuers. "They have strong mental blocks in place," he told them. "But they have been slowed down. They cannot reach us in time."

"They'd better not," snarled Mystique. "Let's get this over with."

The four hurried as best as they could to the summit of the mountain, where they entered a cave. A door slid shut behind them, causing Jean to glance behind her nervously. The others seemed unfazed and she followed them further into the cave.

Mesmero stopped in front of a door and removed his hood. "The day has finally come, great Apocalypse. I now deliver the final key, the shape-shifting mutant Mystique."

Jean smirked as she saw the anger and shock on Mystique's face. "What do you mean _I'm _the key? You told me Rogue was!"

Mesmero regarded her calmly. "You are both needed in order for Apocalypse to cross this threshold."

Mystique grabbed him by the front of his robe. "Listen circus freak, I agreed to bring Rogue here because you assured me our futures would be secure. Were you lying then too?"

Jean debated mentioning that it wasn't Mystique that had brought Rogue and chose not to. The show was just getting entertaining.

"Apocalypse will not forget those who are faithful." Mesmero seemed unafraid of Mystique and Jean was impressed.

"Why didn't you just enslave my mind?"

"I was unable. Your powers of control are formidable."

"I'd advise you to remember that." Mystique let go of the man and glared. "Now, what is needed of me?"

Mesmero gestured to a small hole in the door with his staff. "Upon entering through there, you will find the engraved sign of Apocalypse. Place your hand upon it and the door will open."

For a moment, Jean thought the woman would refuse. Instead, Mystique transformed into a cobra and slithered through the gap. Once inside the chamber, she regained her own form and glanced around, slightly awed at the opulence of the room, before looking down at the spider symbol. It glowed blue and she hesitated, wondering why it had to be her to touch the symbol. But it only took a second for her to gather her courage and place her hand on the engraving.

The walls began to spin around her and Mystique tried to take her hand away from the stone, realising with horror that she was unable. She grabbed her arm with her free hand and yanked with all her strength, but it made no difference at all. She was trapped. And then she began to scream as she felt her body begin to change…

The door opened.

Mesmero indicated to Jean and she walked into the chamber, glancing at Mystique as she did so. The woman had been turned to stone, the terror in her face still obvious. Jean wanted to tell the statue that she'd won, she was still in Rogue's body while Mystique was entombed forever in – but there was no time. She could sense their pursuers outside the cave, about to break in and try to stop her.

"Fire in the hole!" She heard Gambit's voice and then a loud explosion, indicating that the trio were in the cave. She left Mystique behind and headed further into the chamber.

"Destiny has dealt its hand." Sounded like Mesmero. "Do _not_ interfere."

_Nice try baldie_ she thought. The sounds of a fight drifted through to her as she saw the Eye of Ages in front of her. Remembering Mystique, she was nervous about laying her hand on the symbol – but surely Apocalypse wouldn't want her to absorb all those powers just to turn her to stone before he could take advantage of that?

Even with that reasoning, it took all of her courage to lay her hand on the engraving. The Eye of Ages opened with a flash of white light and Jean caught her breath as she looked down onto the withered figure that was Apocalypse.

And Apocalypse opened his eyes and looked back at her.

Dimly, Jean could hear footsteps heading into the chamber and knew she was almost out of time. Still, she couldn't take her gaze away from the ageless eyes in the wizened face.

She never saw his arm move. The first she knew of it was when she felt the strong fingers wrap around her wrist and the draining process begin.

It was a million times worse than when Rogue had drained her. That had almost killed her; she just wished this would. She could feel the psychic prisons she had constructed dissolve and every personality she had drained leaving her. She cried out, the pain and shock of it too much. And then she felt her own essence being yanked out of the body it had called its own for so long…

Logan ran into the chamber just in time to see Jean stagger and fall, her body morphing back into Rogue's form and collapsing beside the Eye of Ages. He raced over to her and cradled her head for a moment, checking for a pulse and relieved to find that she was still alive.

Apocalypse rose from within the Eye of Ages, his shrivelled form restored to its former strength, his whole body glowing with blue energy. Logan let Rogue rest on the floor and as the man floated past, he popped his claws and leapt.

Three things happened at the same time.

Logan was flung backwards by an incredibly strong energy pulse, slamming into the floor beside Rogue without even laying a claw on Apocalypse.

The vessel that the other mutants had used to escape the tomb in Giza arrived in the chamber.

And hundreds of miles away in the Xavier Institute, a formerly comatose figure opened her eyes.


	8. Awake

Thanks to:

Raphaella – Jean awaking is the focus of this chapter!

Oceanbang – Tons of New Recruit goodness in this chapter!

Kurttyscogue – She's ba-ack! And she's pissed off…

Furygrrl – There will be further Pyro/Jean in later chapters. And yes, she's already causing trouble – that's the Evil Jean we know and love!

UniversalAnimeGirl – I loved writing the catfight! I hope to put in another one in the real world in a later chapter. I hadn't thought about Rogue zapping the pilots to fly the plane, but it would make more sense. There will be an 'Impact' chapter shortly and the horsemen will be different to the ones in the programme, but that's all I'm saying for now! On the subject of Rogue keeping or losing Jean's powers, I haven't actually decided yet! I might keep some of them and lose others. This fic will end with 'Dark Horizons 2' but I may write my own twisted version of Season Five, I haven't decided yet.

XX-Goth-Gal – You're right, it was a scarab but I was using a transcript site for the info on the episode and because it kept saying 'spider' I used it too. What will Jean do when she wakes up? You're about to find out…

Rogue14 – An update the same day as I got your review, how's that for fast? Glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Author Note: This is another one of those chapters written straight on to the computer (I'm updating faster than I can write) so let me know what you think. And for everyone waiting for an update of 'When We Grow Up', I'm planning on sending out the next two chapters at the same time, but I've been really snowed under lately. I'm hoping to add them in the next couple of days. Also, I finally got around to updating the default chapter and adding all the thank you notes a couple of days ago, but I was drunk when I did it, so I hope they make sense.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except my beloved X-Men encyclopaedia and Ultimate X-Men and the updated Ultimate X-Men…wow, I really need to get a life.

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Jean stared at the ceiling, her mind slowly recalling recent events. She could remember being in Tibet, entering the tomb, Mystique being turned to stone…but try as she might, the last thing she could recall were the ageless eyes of Apocalypse staring into her own. After that, there was nothing.

Maybe she'd passed out?

Turning her head, she could make out some machines that seemed to be hooked to her body. She was in a hospital? More likely the medical bay of the Institute. After all, with Rogue's 'no touching' problem, no one would risk taking her to a regular hospital.

So why was there no one here? She would have thought that Scott or one of the instructors would look in on her, stay with her while she was unconscious. Even if they knew she wasn't Rogue, they'd want answers. But she seemed to be all alone in the semi-darkness of the room.

She forced herself to sit up, alarmed at how weak she was. Had she been out longer than she thought? Her muscles felt like they hadn't been used for an age. She put her head forward, feeling her hair tickle the skin on her arms…

Rogue's hair wasn't long enough to reach her arms.

Hand shaking, Jean grabbed a strand of hair and looked at it. It hadn't been washed for a while and the room was dark, but she could still make out the colour. Red, not brown. The skin of her hands wasn't as pale as Rogue's and she could still see the scar she'd gotten at aged eight falling onto some broken glass, on the back of her hand where it met the wrist.

_I'm back in my own body!_

Part of her was relieved. She'd liked looking like she did and had never realised just how much she used her good looks to get her own way until she'd masqueraded as Rogue. Another part of her wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. She could have used Rogue to gain infinite power, all the mutant abilities she could have stolen – that option was gone. And if she could have kept Mystique's powers, she could have still looked like herself.

Jean took a deep breath and forced herself to concentrate on her current situation. Time enough to brood on her lost powers later on. For now, she had to work out where she was and who else was in the building. Then she could get to a safe place and work out what to do next.

A quick scan with her mind confirmed she was at the Xavier Institute. There were only a few people still in the mansion – Sam, Amara, Jamie, Roberto and Ray. They were all involved in a game of 'Grand Theft Auto 3' and had no idea that she was awake.

_Good._

Jean climbed out of the bed, worried about how her muscles had atrophied. It wasn't as bad as it might have been thanks to the Beast doing some physiotherapy on her unconscious body, but she still felt shaky and weak. She hunted around the room until she found her Acolyte uniform on a shelf in her bedside table. She dragged it on, still not feeling strong. The only part of her that seemed the same was her mind.

_Somebody is going to pay for this._

She chose to fly rather than force her shaky legs to walk. Out of her room, where her body had resided ever since Rogue had drained her. Down the corridor and up the stairs, toward where the New Recruits were playing on the computer.

Jean floated outside the door, hearing their laughter as Roberto's character was killed. She could send them all insane if she wanted to, have them kill each other or themselves. Or she could crush their minds and leave them all drooling vegetables. A nice surprise for the X-Men when they returned from dealing with Apocalypse.

Apocalypse… 

She chose not to harm them. Instead, she implanted a few psychic suggestions before escaping through a window.

Roberto hurled down his controller in disgust. "That wasn't fair!"

"You were outclassed," replied Ray. "Admit it!"

"I was not!" Roberto turned into his Sunspot form and blasted a wall, which disintegrated under the pressure.

"That looked like fun." Amara changed into her lava form and blew a large hole in the ceiling.

"Woo-hoo!" Ray made the television explode. "This is more fun than any computer game!"

The New Recruits laughed and began using their powers to destroy the mansion.

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The Professor turned from the X-Jets controls. "Any change?"

"None." Logan glanced down at the unconscious Rogue. "But I can get her scent again. It's as if the enhancements have faded."

"They probably have," replied the Professor. "Apocalypse drained all the personalities out of her, including Jean's. It makes sense that she would not retain the enhancements."

"So…who is she?" asked Logan.

"I don't know yet," admitted the Professor. "But if she truly has reverted back to Rogue, then we need to make sure that Jean is still in the Med bay. If Apocalypse drained off the extra personalities, then she had to go somewhere. If she's still in Rogue's head, she may take over again. And if not…"

"Then she might be back in her own body," finished Logan. "Have you got a message to the kids yet?"

"They're choosing to ignore me," said the Professor. "I can only hope it's rebellion about being left behind."

"Unlikely." Logan had another look at Rogue. "We need to get to them before she does."

"Even if she awakes in her own body, it's doubtful that she would have the strength to leave the bed." The Beast tried to look reassuring. "Her body has been there a long time."

"I've never met anyone as determined as Jean," said Logan. "If she wakes up, she won't be just lying there waiting for us."

There was no answer to this, but privately they all knew he was right.

No sooner had the X-Jet landed in the Institute than Scott was getting out, running to Jean's room to check on her.

"I'll go with him," said Logan, jumping out of the plane and following him. It took him only seconds to catch up. Scott was staring at the walls, graffiti painted all over the few walls that were undamaged.

"I'd say she's up," said Scott grimly.

Logan growled. "This wasn't her. The kids did this. But I doubt they were acting on their own impulses."

"She's trying to distract us," realised Scott. "We have to check if she's still around!"

"Way ahead of ya bub." Logan began running in the direction of the Med bay, only to be stopped by a young man flying toward him.

Cannonball.

"I knew I could beat you!" Cannonball smashed Wolverine through the wall and onto the floor. The boy grinned down at Logan, apparently realising that the man would not use his claws.

"Not even on your best day kid." Logan threw Sam off him and leapt back to his feet.

"We don't have time for this!" Scott blasted Sam with an optic beam, causing the boy to fly backwards. "We need to go check on Jean. The Professor is the only one who can get into their minds."

Unfortunately for them, some one had turned the stairs into dust with a stream of lava. Logan leapt into the chasm and landed at the bottom, thankful that the lava had cooled. His healing factor would have taken care of injuries, but third degree burns were still a pain in the ass.

"Coast's clear," he called up to Scott and a moment later the boy landed beside him. They scanned the darkened corridor for signs of movement, but there was nothing.

Scott straightened up and took his hand from his visor. "I think we're…"

"GAAAAAHH!"

Scott glanced up in confusion only to be hit by twelve Jamie's. He went down in a tangle of arms and legs. Logan sniffed out the real boy and picked him up, throwing him to one side. The clones hurried over to protect the boy from any further attack.

Rubbing the back of his head, Scott got back to his feet. "Thanks."

The pair hurried in the direction of the Med bay, Scott considering all the torments he would inflict on Jean when he got hold of her.

But it was her that you fell for, not Rogue… 

He didn't want to consider that.

As they passed a wall with 'Roberto Rules!' graffitied on it, Sunspot attacked them, emerging suddenly from an open door. Scott saw him coming and blasted him before he could get too close to them.

Logan stopped, putting his arm out to stop Scott. "Ray and Amara are close. Don't let you're guard down."

They advanced cautiously, trying to spy the two remaining threats. For a moment it seemed like they would learn from their fallen teammates – then a blast of electricity shot toward them, forcing them to dive out of the way. Ray came into view, grinning at them.

"Make you jump?" he asked, his hands beginning to glow with energy.

Logan tackled the boy before he could blast them again, knocking him to the floor. When he got up Ray remained on the floor, temporarily stunned.

"Let's go," he said, knowing it wouldn't take long for the others to recover. Not to mention that there was still Amara to take care of…

As soon as he thought it, a stream of lava bubbled up in front of them, totally cutting them off from their destination. Amara emerged from the darkness ahead, turning into her Magma form as she approached them.

Scott turned to see Ray getting up, no longer seeming amused. Roberto was walking up behind him, followed by seventeen Jamie's. In the distance he could see Sam flying through the hole in the ceiling.

"We're screwed."

"We might have to hurt them," responded Logan, popping his claws.

As Amara formed another ball of lava, she suddenly paused and reverted back to human form, her eyes glassy. The other New Recruits also stopped their advance and Sam flew right over their heads and into a wall.

_I have them contained_ The Professor's told Logan and Scott telepathically. _I'll undo the damage that Jean did but you must ensure that she is still in the mansion_

"Yeah," growled Logan. "I have a few _questions_ to ask her."

The pair ran to the Med bay and Scott hit the lights of the room that Jean had resided in.

The bed was empty.

Scott punched the doorframe. "Oh _shit_!"

Logan checked the cupboard where her clothes had been and found it empty. "She's been gone a while. No way we'll catch up to her now."

"But we need to find out what Apocalypse is doing!"

"Looks like we'll find out the hard way." Logan sent a telepathic message to the Professor. "In the meantime, we need to look after Rogue. At least we know it really is her."

"How do we know for sure?" Scott turned his back on Logan and glanced up at the New Recruits, who were still entranced. "Maybe Jean's still controlling her somehow."

Logan decided that it wasn't the best time to lecture Scott. It had been obvious from the scene on the football pitch that something had been going on between him and Rogue, or Jean as it turned out, and he didn't think it was necessary to upset the boy any further.

"If Jean's not here, she must have her own consciousness back, which means that Rogue will be Rogue."

"Unless some of Jean stays in her. We were all still conscious when she was imitating us."

There was no way to counter that argument. Logan silently went back toward the gap in the ceiling, grabbing Sam as the boy emerged from the heap of rubble. "C'mon kid, I'm gonna need a lift."

"Uh…" Sam let himself be dragged along. "Did we really just attack you?"

"Yeah," said Logan. "And you've all got a training session in the morning, with me. I'll get back at you then."

Roberto heard him. "Oh great."

Logan snarled as he saw a badly drawn caricature of himself on the wall. "And get this place cleaned up!"

Miraculously, the elevator was still in service and Beast carried Rogue into the Med bay, placing her into a spare bed. Scott, Lance and Kitty watched as he did a few tests on her.

"She seems uninjured," he said finally. "But it may be some time before she regains consciousness. Scott, would you like to stay with her?"

"I…no. No, I can't." Scott shook his head emphatically and left.

"We'll stay Mr McCoy," said Kitty.

Lance and Kitty settled down in the hard chairs, preparing for a long night after a difficult day. The Beast left the room and Kitty took Lance's hand. "Poor Scott."

"Yeah." Lance rubbed Kitty's knuckles absently with a finger, his mind still on the images he'd seen when Jean entered his mind.

_Without her, Kitty'd hate me._

He could still see himself attacking her, trying to get the trans-dimensional device from the X-Men. In their reality he'd saved her. If not for Jean, he'd have avalanched her through a wall.

"Lance!"

"Huh?"

"I was talking to you. Weren't you listening to me?"

"I guess I'm just tired." He managed a smile for Kitty, the person he'd joined the X-Men for. "What were you saying?"

"On the football pitch, when Jean went into your mind – what did she show you?"

"Can we talk about it another time?" Lance looked at the floor. "I don't really feel up to discussing it now and I'd like us to talk about it alone. Not in front of Rogue. She's unconscious, but she might still be able to hear us."

"Oh. OK." Kitty seemed a bit put out, but Lance knew he needed time to work out what he'd seen before he tried to explain it to her.

"Poor Scott," she said again. "He seemed so hurt."

"Wouldn't you be?" asked Lance. "Turns out his girlfriend was a fraud."

_Just like you… _

"That's not very fair," said Kitty. "We don't know how long they were seeing each other."

"From what he said, it was since she was able to touch. That was after Jean took over."

"Do you think she'll still be able to touch?"

Lance shook his head. "I don't know."

In the lab, the Beast hooked Mystique up to some machines and tried to judge if she could still be alive in spite of being turned into stone. The Professor and Logan looked on.

"There doesn't seem to be any sign of life," concluded the Beast. "But I can't be 100 sure."

"And I can't get a telepathic reading on her mind," added the Professor.

"But with her enhancements, you couldn't get a read on her when she was walking and talking," pointed out Logan. "She could still be alive."

"That's a horrible thought," said Beast. "To still be conscious but unable to move…but she's not breathing. I can't find a heartbeat or any brain activity."

"Which doesn't mean that she's not alive," said the Professor. "We need to keep trying."

"Rogue's gonna love that," said Logan. "And speaking of Rogue…"

"She's fine, physically." Beast sighed and made his way over to them. "But mentally? I think she's going to have some problems."

"I haven't been into her mind yet," said the Professor. "I don't want to invade her psyche without her permission. But with her enhancements seemingly gone, I should be able to enter her mind and ensure that she has no trace of Jean remaining."

Logan gave the Professor a look. "And Scott?"

"Scott." The Professor steepled his fingers. "I had no idea that he and Rogue, or Jean, were involved. He seems to be taking this very badly. But only time will tell how much this will affect him."

"Your girlfriend turns out to be your enemy?" Logan folded his arms and leant against the wall. "I know how I'd take it."

"And we need to find Jean," added the Beast. "She could answer some of our questions."

"Yes." The Professor frowned. "Unfortunately, Cerebro cannot trace her thanks to her enhancements and unless she shows up, we have no way to find her."

"She's been unconscious for months, she's weak and tired and confused." Logan thought about it. "She's alienated everyone who might have helped her and she needs a place to lie low for a while. She's got no money and she's in uniform. She's gonna stand out. Where might she go?"

The others shook their heads. "I have no idea," admitted the Beast. "I would think she'd find a place to hide. An empty house maybe."

"I'm gonna go look for her," said Logan, walking toward the door. "I've gotta do something. Let me know if Rogue wakes up."

"We will." The Professor watched Logan leave, not liking the mans chances but knowing he had to do something.

_Because Jean may be our only chance to find out what Apocalypse is planning – and she's gone_.


	9. Impacted?

Thanks to:

Furygrrl – Where's Jean? I'm afraid you won't find out here! It's sadly a Jean-free zone. But the next chapter will feature gratuitous Jean! She will confront Apocalypse, although whether she does it soon or with the other X-Men I refuse to tell – ain't I mean? On a related subject, my bio gets updated whenever I have an idea and I've updated this evening on a possible Evo-Over 18 fic (but I stand by what I say – one multi-chapter at a time!) which just seems to have arrived in my brain whole. About my Evo-over 18 post, I'm back in college tomorrow and bricking myself about the perfect people that seem to surround the original Miss small-dark-and-sullen (that would be PB) that I'm imagining will be there, which is why I felt kinda disassociated with Jean. Normally I love Jean, especially today when I went to an ice-cream parlour and read the new 'Essential X-Men' which featured Jean being really bitchy to Emma Frost. I think Emma is really cool, but Jean made her look like a total amateur, although I don't think anyone appreciated my "Go Jean!" comment, made very loudly!

Oceanbang – I have to admit, I have no plans with the Horsemen right now. I've not got that far ahead of the fic. All I know is that they will be different to the show and the groups who go to confront them will be different too! Maybe not all four, but at least two of them.

Enfant-terrible – It would have been fun to do the Phoenix in Jean/Rogue's mind but to be honest I think it would take a writer with a lot more talent and knowledge of the saga to do. There will be more Pyro/Jean love, although it might be kinda ambiguous and you will defiantly have to wait for it. Sorry!

XX-Goth-Gal – You are so right about Jean being like Xavier and I never noticed until you pointed it out! I read somewhere that good sub-plots just happen and I guess this is an example, I didn't intend that but it's a damn good analogy. This chapter has no Jean, but I hope you enjoy the Rogue/Kurt plots. Later chapters will contain Lancitty and Jean sub-plots.

X00001 – If Logan did that, it would ruin all the fun!

LadyEvils – I'm beginning to feel sorry for Scott too, and it's me tormenting him! Will Mystique end up over the cliff? I dunno, but Rogue has some one else she hates more than mamma-kin now…

UniversalAnimeGirl – I hope you got my mail! I mentioned you in my bio coz I was having trouble with the sequel and it was your reminder about Rogue's power being psychological that made the love aspects of this fic, not to mention the transcripts site that saves me about an hour in front of my video! I liked your ideas and would check them out. And I will be nicer to Scott from now on as well as giving Lance and Kitty a chapter to themselves to work out Lance's angst. I know that she wasn't seen having some of the personalities drained, but I'm choosing to believe that it's because the action was elsewhere. And the 'Jean went Rogue' comment cracked me up too – I hadn't thought of that!

Kurttyscogue – Kurt finds out a few home truths here, although I'm saving Kitty and Lance for the next chapter.

Raphaella – It does seem to have gone a long way from the beginning, when I just kinda wondered how Jean would fit in with the Brotherhood! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Rogue14 – The New Recruits don't have much to do in this chapter but I intend to rectify that!

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

Author Note - this is an identical chapter to the other chapter nine, save for me rectifying a glaring oversite that Furygrrl pointed out to me and I managed not to notice in spite of my checks!

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Professor Xavier glanced up at Logan as he approached. The look on Wolverine's face told him that the hunt for Jean Grey had turned up nothing. Rather than comment, Xavier turned his attention back to where the New Recruits were playing basketball. There were rather too many powers being used to say the game was fair, but at least they were no longer upset about Jean delving into their minds.

"Couldn't find her," growled Logan. "She's too advanced."

"Yes." The Professor kept his eyes on the game.

"So…how's Rogue?"

"She'll be fine physically." Professor Xavier finally turned his head to look at Logan. "But this whole experience has left her very weak. And poor Kurt…"

"What about him?"

The Professor sighed. "Rogue allowed me to enter her mind. It was confused, but I found out what Jean had been hiding from her. Mystique may well be Kurt's mother."

Logan grimaced. "Oh boy."

"On top of which, she also adopted Rogue when she was four. Destiny foresaw what her powers would be and took advantage of her orphaned status to gain control of them. She's tormented. She's found out things that would drive anyone out of their minds, let alone a teenage girl who already has issues about being used for her powers."

"Not good." Logan thought about it. "Have you told Kurt about his past?"

"I had to. I couldn't keep the knowledge from him."

"How did he take it?"

"Not well. He's spent most of his time since talking to Mystique, who's nothing but a statue. He needs answers, but there's no way for him to get them."

"And Rogue?"

"She's still retaining some of Jean's powers, her telekinesis, but the telepathy and the enhancements Jean got from Magneto's machine have gone. I have no idea if she can still control her powers or not, she refuses to even try to touch anyone else. She's very upset. She doesn't want to talk to anyone."

"Not even Scott?"

"Especially not Scott. He feels as though he was manipulated. He has no idea who it was that he fell for, whether it was Rogue or if Jean did something to him."

"Did she?"

"She didn't alter his mind. But Jean has been masquerading as Rogue for a long time. From what I can tell from them, Scott and Rogue only began dating after Jean had taken over. He feels used and Rogue doesn't know what to do."

"Has she spoken to Kurt?"

"They're in the gazebo right now. I don't want to intrude, but I think Kurt's glad to have found out they're siblings of a sort. Rogue's been too badly hurt by the whole issue. I imagine that Kurt is the least of her concerns right now."

Logan glanced in the direction of the gazebo. "And Scott?"

"In the Danger Room."

"Mystique?"

"No change. I've let Forge take her with him. He's gone back to the Brotherhood. I haven't told Rogue or Kurt yet, but it was upsetting Rogue to have her around although Kurt might not take it well."

"When are you gonna tell them?"

"Oh, _I'm _not…"

At the gazebo, Rogue was leaning against the railing looking over the cliffs. Kurt was sitting on the bench, his tail twitching nervously. She was obviously in no mood to talk, but Kurt decided to try anyway. "Logan's still out trying to track down our loving mother."

"Go _away_."

"Huh. Is that any way to treat your little brother?"

"Rogue turned around, eyes blazing. "We're _not_ related!"

"Oh, now that's just denial talking."

"Mystique may have given birth to you, but she only adopted me." Rogue turned her back on him and began staring out to sea again.

"Either way sis, we're in this together. I mean it Rogue."

Rogue didn't reply.

"Whatever you're going through, I'm here for you OK?"

There was still no answer. Sighing, Kurt stood up and thought about teleporting away, but when he saw Logan approaching he decided not to. The man had only just returned from his search for Jean and he might have brought news. Whatever it was, good or bad; Kurt was determined to be there for his newfound sister.

Logan stopped on the gazebo and cleared his throat to get Rogue's attention. She turned and raised an eyebrow, obviously wanting to know if Jean had been found but not able to bring herself to ask.

"No sign of her," said Logan bluntly. "You've no idea where she could have gone?"

"How would ah know?"

Logan frowned, feeling sympathetic for the girl but not knowing how to show it. "Try not to let things get to ya."

"Nothing gets to me anymore."

Logan and Kurt exchanged glances and Logan tried again. "Y'know what, uh, what Apocalypse and Jean did to you, that wasn't your fault…Rogue?"

"Ah'm _fine_ Logan."

"Ok."

Rogue glanced over her shoulder. "Why does the Professor have to keep Mystique around here anyway?"

"You don't have to worry about that anymore Rogue. She's gone."

Both Rogue and Kurt looked shocked.

"We tried everything he could to help her, but she's just solid stone now."

"So where is she?" asked Kurt.

"Gave her to the Brotherhood."

"WHAT!?" Kurt leapt up, yellow eyes gleaming. Logan was startled. Angry Kurt was like being attacked by a kitten.

"Charles knew how much it affected Rogue having her around…"

"So you just gave her away? I don't believe it! The Professor gave our mother to the Brotherhood!"

Rogue snorted. "So what?" She walked past Logan and Kurt back toward the mansion.

Kurt teleported in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Seriously, it doesn't bother you that the Brotherhood boys have her?"

"Why would it? Good riddance!"

"She belongs here, with us!"

"No she doesn't! Why does it even matter to you?"

Rogue walked away, Kurt watching her sadly. "It made me feel better…that's all."

Logan walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen Elf, I know what you must be going through…"

Kurt shook his hand off. "You don't know anything." He teleported away, leaving Logan wishing that the Professor had done his own dirty work.

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Forge sat on the floor of the bedroom that he and Mystique had briefly shared in the Brotherhood house. Pietro had been tormenting him ever since his return with the stone Mystique, but Forge knew that he didn't really have anywhere else to go. His parents had been pissed when he'd left and he didn't know how he'd explain the statue to them, especially when he told them it was actually his shape-shifting girlfriend who'd been turned into stone by an ancient mutant. They'd never let him leave the house again.

He was working on a device that he hoped would transform her back into human form. So far, nothing he'd tried had worked. It didn't help that he had no idea how he could possibly reverse the process and he was afraid of hurting her or making things worse. All he could think of was to somehow remove her mutation and so far he hadn't succeeded.

There was a hammering on the door, Fred again no doubt. He'd been trying to persuade Forge that since she was just stone now, it wouldn't hurt her if they used her as a gargoyle. Forge had been horrified by both the suggestion and the disrespect that the rest of the Brotherhood treated her with. The only person who seemed to have any sympathy for the woman was Wanda.

"Piss off Fred!" he yelled.

The door flew open and a blue and white streak entered the room and left with the statue. Snarling, Forge ran downstairs after Pietro, noticing the boy stood at the door to the kitchen with Fred and Todd also crowded around the door.

"Where is she?" asked Forge, trying to push past Fred. Might as well try to move a mountain.

"Shhhh!" Pietro turned his attention back to the kitchen, where Tabby was humming to himself and making a snack. She opened a cupboard and Mystique fell out pinning her to the floor. Tabby shoved the statue to one side and began making several large bombs.

"You know your trouble Tabby?" Pietro tried to dodge the barrage. "You've got no sense of humour."

Forge hurried over to Mystique and picked her up carefully. There seemed to be no change, even her terrified expression remained the same. Closing his eyes, he thought he smelled brimstone and wondered if he was already in hell.

Wanda walked down the stairs with a look of disgust on her face. "You immature clods."

"Ain't no disrespect if she's just a big ole chunk o' stone," insisted Fred.

"Yeah," added Toad. "And I heard that stone don't have any feelings." Toad shot out his tongue, hooked Mystique and yanked her right out of Forges hands and into his own. He knocked on her head. "Hello, McFly!"

"You give her back _right now_!" Forge ran over to Toad and tried to wrestle Mystique off him. They struggled briefly before Fred pulled her away from both of them.

"What do you care?" asked Todd, attempting to stare down Forge. "She's just a statue."

"You don't know that!"

"If nothing else, you should at least take her to see Agatha Harkness," added Wanda. "Maybe she could help her."

Fred stood the statue upright in the living room and Todd hopped on her shoulders. Putting his hand to his chin, Fred came up with an idea. "Hey, you know something? Tomorrow I say we make her into a fountain."

"Brilliant!" Todd leapt onto the boy's shoulders as he walked out of the room. "That way she could scare away the crows. And the garbage man!"

Forge watched the boys walk out of the room, an angry look on his face. "Don't worry," he said to Mystique quietly. "I won't let them hurt you. I'll fix this somehow, I promise."

"Hey Forge!" Pietro appeared at the door with a strange looking gun in his hands. "Found this in your room. What does it do?"

"Be careful!" Forge grabbed the statue and hit the deck, just in time to avoid being blasted by a red beam. He glared up at the smoking pile that had once been a chair and then at Pietro, who was grinning nervously.

"Uh…bye!" Pietro zipped off, chased by a much slower but very irate Forge, who left Mystique where she lay.

Kurt emerged from his hiding place, fortunately a different chair than the one Pietro had blasted, sneaking over to Mystique and grabbing hold of her.

A noise in the doorway made him look up. Wanda was glaring at him, her hands glowing with energy. "You're in the wrong house, _X-Man_."

"Wait!" Kurt raised his hands in the hopes of warding off an attack. "She – she's my mother."

Wanda paused, a look of pity on her face, then abruptly lowered her arms and left the room. With a sigh of relief, Kurt took hold of the statue and teleported from the house, wondering vaguely what Forge was going to think about this.

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"Scott?"

Rogue walked into the kitchen, seeing the boy making a sandwich. He stiffened as he heard her voice, then turned to face her. He didn't smile and his expression was impossible to read behind his shades.

"Scott, ah…" Rogue ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Ah don't know what to say. Ah had no idea…ah mean, this is all so…"

"Yeah." Scott put his plate on the table. "I know what you mean. I just – I can't get over it at the moment. I'm having a hard time with this Rogue. I need some space."

"Yeah, fine." Rogue walked out of the kitchen, trying to blink back tears. She had admired Scott for so long and now Jean had messed it up for her, used her body to date Scott and then left Rogue to pick up the pieces of his shattered ego. Right now she really didn't want to deal with anyone, not Kitty's well-meant attempts at understanding or Kurt's efforts to get to know her. All she wanted was to be left alone with her anger.

As she walked past Kurt's room, she heard his voice talking to some one. The door was open a crack and she took it upon herself to peek inside and see who it was.

"Why were you so full of anger?"

Rogue's eyes widened as she realised that the other person in the room wasn't a person at all, but a statue. Mystique. She threw the door open in fury.

_"You DARE bring that THING into this house!?"_

Kurt looked up, startled. "Rogue, she can't hurt us anymore!"

"Speak for yourself!"

Rogue turned her back and tried to get control of herself. Kurt approached her cautiously. "I know you have every reason to hate her. So do I – I mean, look what she's done to us! But she's still our mother."

"You have no idea what she's done to me," replied Rogue, her voice low and shaking with anger. "You don't know what I went through at the Brotherhood thanks to her and _Jean Grey_. Either you get her outta here or _I will_!"

"Rogue…" Kurt rested his hand on his sister's shoulder. "Anger and hatred destroyed her. If you don't get rid of yours, it will destroy you too."

"It already destroyed me." Rogue shook off his hand and stormed out of the room. Kurt stared after her for a moment, trying to deny what she had just said to him…then he heard a small noise behind him. He turned to see the statue crying.

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"…Nothing can be seen in it and apparently nothing can penetrate it…"

"…Mexican authorities have posted military units around the perimeter…"

"…Once again, two archaeologists have discovered a…"

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"What's the progress?" asked Beast.

Scott walked toward the dome, conscious of how he looked in his uniform in front of all the soldiers. "They're leery of us and I don't blame them."

"Let's move quickly," responded Xavier as the military left them. "They're not giving us a lot of time."

Most of the team busied themselves placing electronic devices in the ground, while the Professor tried to get a telepathic reading from the dome. He frowned. "I'm being blocked."

The Beast shrugged as he posted another device into the ground. "So let's shoot some particle rays through this thing and get a few readings."

He activated the devices, which all glowed brightly for a moment then exploded. Beast sighed. "On to plan B."

He retrieved a bag from the X-Jet and pulled a thick pair of elbow-length gloves from them, handing them to Kitty. She pulled them on, wiggling her fingers to ensure they were a snug fit, before walking over to the dome, ignoring the looks that Lance was giving her.

"As you phase your arms through, these should protect you from any kind of energy discharge," said the Beast, handing Kitty a large device that looked like a gun. Lance scowled, but chose not to comment.

Xavier added, "Just release the probe and withdraw. Do not try to phase all the way through under _any_ circumstances."

Kitty nodded. "OK."

She approached the dome, the probe whirring like a giant drill. Putting it to the side of the dome, she managed to get maybe a quarter of an inch into the side of the dome before a massive power surge threw her aside. Lance ran over and tried to catch her, flying backward as her momentum carried them away from the dome, her gloves still smoking. Beast grabbed the probe, which was still spitting sparks, throwing it up into the air before it exploded.

"Are you OK?" asked Lance frantically.

Kitty nodded. "I-I'm OK."

Scott put one hand to his visor. "Want me to try?"

"NO!" shouted the Professor. "We must avoid any active aggression."

Lance helped Kitty to her feet before pointing to the sky. "Do you mean, like _that_?"

A metal object shaped more like a bullet than a sphere approached at high speed. The Professor gasped as spotlights sought out the object. It flew twice around the dome before turning into a ball and an opening appeared at the top. Magneto floated out, indicating with his hands for the metal to fly into the dome. It did so, breaking into pieces and leaving not so much as a scratch. The people on the ground fled as metal showered down upon them.

The X-Men could see the gathering of the objects that Magneto used, from the tanks on the ground to the satellites pulled out of orbit to join the assault. They floated around Magneto briefly before hurtling down to the dome. They all hit with deadly force, yet not one of them penetrated. More satellites re-entered the earths atmosphere, glowing red hot upon re-entry, the three of them joining together as they flew toward the dome.

It was at that point that Apocalypse emerged from the dome.

Magneto re-directed the burning metal toward the figure hovering above the pyramid. A mere gesture by Apocalypse caused the deadly mass to turn away from him and hurl back toward Magneto. Startled, Magneto dodged to one side, avoiding the missile by mere inches.

Apocalypse clenched his fist.

Magneto began to scream as he was engulfed in a shower of sparks that seemed to get smaller and smaller, until in the blink of an eye, they had vanished – along with the Master of Magnetism.

"No…" The word was on the lips of everyone on the ground, particularly those who knew how tenacious Magneto was. It seemed impossible that anyone could ever get the better of him – and yet he had just been reduced to atoms.

Apocalypse re-entered the dome, turning his head at the last moment to make eye contact with the Professor. Xavier was devastated about Magneto and although he knew he couldn't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture, the eyes of the thing that had just murdered his oldest friend made his blood run cold.

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Kurt waited on the gazebo.

The setting was almost romantic, the scent of the ocean and the view that could only come at night, the almost total blackness and the background roar that was the backdrop of the water. He wished he were on a date, with some pretty girl who had come to listen to the sound of the sea with him…

It was not to be. He was waiting for a self-proclaimed witch to help release his mother from her petrified state, to help her get her life back.

He was beginning to lose hope. Wanda had said she would contact Agatha Harkness, but what if this were just another Brotherhood joke? To leave him out here with the unfeeling stone that was his mother would be the ultimate retribution.

Yet in the distance he fancied he could see a figure approaching. He narrowed his eyes, better than anyone else for night vision, until he distinguished the figure of an elderly woman approaching. It had to be her.

"Finally," said Kurt pointedly as the woman walked onto the gazebo. "I was afraid you wouldn't show."

Agatha ignored him, choosing instead to focus her attention on Mystique. She traced a finger across the statues face, Kurt waiting hopefully for some good news.

"Well? Can you help her?"

Agatha removed her hood. "No. But _she _can."

They both turned to the shadows surrounding the entrance to the gazebo, Kurt's eyes widening as he realised it was Rogue approaching.

"Rogue?" Kurt let himself believe that his sister might care after all. "Why are _you_ here?"

"She's here to end the torment," said Agatha gently. "Isn't that right child?"

Rogue clenched her fists decisively. "Yes."

Agatha pointed toward Mystique. "If your mother is alive, only you have the power to save her. Rest your hand against the stone and absorb the mutation."

"Hold on a moment," said Kurt. "Is that even safe? What if she…"

"A moment is all it will take," interrupted Agatha. "It will free Mystique enough to unlock her own powers."

Rogue glanced down at her hands. "You're serious? Ah'm the only one that can save her?"

"Rogue, it's the right thing." Kurt indicated to the statue. "You _know_ it is."

Shaking her head, Rogue backed away. "No! Ah _won't_ do it!"

"If you don't help her, this will haunt you for the rest of your life," said Kurt softly. "_Prove _that you're not like her."

Rogue walked back to Mystique and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her face was angry. She yanked off the glove on her right hand and laid her hand on Mystique.

The woman's figure began to change from stone, becoming more fluid, the expression changing from fear to acceptance.

And then the statue opened her eyes.


	10. From Dusk 'Til Dawn

Thanks to:

Oceanbang – Some of those questions answered in this chapter!

Furygrrl – Uh, Lance was in the Brotherhood house because, uh…all the food in the mansion had been eaten and he was hoping no one would notice if he snuck over for a snack. Yeah, that'll work since PB didn't notice he was there (oops!). Thanks for pointing that out, I felt so stupid when I realised, but it's all been revised now. More Evil Red in this chapter!

Enfant-terrible – Aw thanks, you're so nice! Hope you like this chapter just as much.

Raphealla – More Kurt here! Does the anti-stoning work? You're about to find out…

Kurttyscogue – Mystique, Lance and Kitty all feature heavily in here!

X00001 – She's gonna be pretty annoyed, that much is for sure…

LadyEvils – I know what you mean about Mystique maybe not really being a statue – answers to that question, plus Lance and Kitty, in this chapter!

DemonRogue13 – Glad you liked and here's what happens next!

UncannyAsianGirl – your address is on your fanfic page! It was just regarding your question about what I thought of your ideas and the answer is; I liked what I read and would certainly check them out! The TK aspect of Rogue's power is gonna be fun to explore and the touching thing…in the next chapter, hee hee! Age of Apocalypse was my favourite series, I remember how she used those magnetic powers. The family therapy theme will be played out through the rest of the fic (and are they ever gonna need it!).

Rogue14 – No 'cliffy' here (I made a punny!) and Mystique will be around a lot more.

One eye – I have been awfully mean to Scott, but I swear things are gonna get better for him and all those hints are leading somewhere, promise!

XX-Goth-Gal – I first time I saw that episode when I was writing 'Manipulating' and I stared at the TV with my jaw somewhere around my knees and to hell with the fact it had just screwed up the planned ending to my fic! Rogue still has that anger, but it's less at Mystique and more at Jean…

Author Note: My computer has crashed three fucking times tonight. If there's any problem with the chapter, let me know so I can fix it.

Disclaimer: Nothing herein is the property of PB. Except the storyline. Kind of.

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He awoke when some one knocked at the window. Groaning, he turned over and pulled the blankets over his head. "Leeme 'lone."

The knocking again, insistent, determined…

_And aren't you on the forty-sixth floor?_

He shot upright and looked toward the window. There was a girl floating outside, pale and cold, her red hair fanning around her face.

_Let me in._

The voice spoke right inside his head. Somewhere at the back of his mind he was remembering scenes from old vampire films and how if a figure floating outside the window asked to be let in at 3am it was usually a good idea to ignore them – but the voice was too commanding to be ignored. Besides, he was still half-convinced that he was dreaming.

The girl floated through the window and he noticed how unwell she looked. "Who are you?"

"We've met," she said. "Although you might not recognise me. I've changed since then."

"But what are you doing outside my bedroom window in the middle of the night?"

She smiled, sitting herself down on the bed, her green eyes meeting his blue ones. "You're going to help me."

_Do as I say._

Unable to resist her telepathic command, Warren nodded dumbly.

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"Lance, wake up!"

"Whuh?" Lance opened his eyes and looked up at Kitty. His bedroom door was locked, but that was never a problem for his girlfriend. Usually he counted that a blessing – it was so much easier to get away with her sneaking in at night when she didn't have to use the door – but since the scene at graduation, he'd been trying to avoid seeing her alone.

"Move over, it's cold." Kitty crawled into bed beside him and folded her arms. "Right, I wanna know why you're acting like this."

"Like what?"

"Don't play dumb with me! You've been like, totally staying out of my way. And you promised me you'd tell me what happened when Jean went into your mind and since then we've never been alone together. You asked Ray to come to the movies with us!"

"I thought he might like the film!"

"You're going to tell me what's going on with you Lance."

Lance sighed and sat up. "OK. When Jean went into my mind at graduation, she showed me what would have happened if she hadn't been in your parents minds at Northbrook."

"And?"

"And you would have found out why I lured you into the office."

Kitty waited impatiently. "I already know why you lured me into the office. Test results, right? So what's the big deal?"

"You didn't know that at the time though. You would have found out while I downloaded the answers and not liked it. Then when your folks showed up, well you know I knocked the school down? If it weren't for Jean, you would've gone with them and not me. You would've gone to the X-Men and I'd have gone to the Brotherhood. We'd have fought all the time and I'd try to hurt you – and I'd still be with them today."

Kitty wrapped her arms around him. "That's what you're concerned about? A bunch of what ifs? That stuff never happened and it might have just been Jean screwing with you."

"No, it wasn't. It was from Destiny's mind – it was real. That stuff would have happened."

"But it didn't. We're here now, together. That's all in the past."

"I guess. But – what if we weren't meant to be together?"

"Whoa, wait! I thought you didn't believe in fate or any of that stuff. I love you Lance, nothing that might have happened differently then can change what we have together now."

"You don't think it matters?"

"I know it doesn't." Kitty leant over and kissed his cheek, relishing the roughness of his stubble against her lips. "That didn't happen, none of it did and nothing Jean can do can change that."

"Yeah, you're right." Lance turned his head to capture her mouth with his own, but even as he pushed her back against the mattress, he knew it would be a long time before he could rid himself of the image of himself growling his anger as Kitty ran away from him – and he dropped half the ceiling on her head.

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"I really see no need for this."

Mystique was reluctantly allowing the Beast to examine her for any problems that may have arisen from her recent experience. She was only doing it for the children. Both Kurt and Rogue were looking at her as if she'd arisen from the dead, which in a manner of speaking, she had. Kurt especially looked curious, whereas Rogue seemed angry.

"You seem to be fine," said the Beast. He didn't believe that they should give their sometime enemy any kind of medical aid, but when Kurt had dragged her back to the mansion and started jabbering, the Professor had insisted.

"So are you really my mother?" asked Kurt.

Mystique glanced over to him, her usual sneer of contempt absent, and nodded.

"But – what happened to me?"

"Do tell, _mother_," said Rogue.

"How do you know any of this?" Mystique directed the question at the teens, but her eyes were on the Professor.

"When Jean touched you, she picked it up and told me about it when we were on the astral plane." Rogue's dislike for her adoptive mother was almost tangible.

"Why did you run that night?" asked the Professor.

"Dear Charles," purred Mystique. "I suppose you picked that up from Rogue when you read her mind after Jean was purged from it."

The Professor ignored her tone. "What were you two doing in that dreary castle? Was it worth the loss of your son?"

"I saved him!" Mystique leapt up angrily. "If it wasn't for me…"

There was silence for a moment.

"Magneto's dead," said the Professor.

Mystique looked at him, startled. "What?"

"He confronted Apocalypse," the Professor told her. "He lost. You don't have to worry about him any more Raven."

"Are you suggesting I was afraid of Magneto?" Mystique snorted. "I'm afraid of no one."

"Then why are you avoiding my question?"

"That's it. I'm leaving." Mystique made her way to the door and paused before she opened it, turning back toward them.

"Rogue…thank you," she said quietly, before leaving.

Kurt put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "You did the right thing."

Rogue sighed. "Then why doesn't it feel that way?"

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The Brotherhood house was in darkness, the usual sounds of loud music, arguments and the occasional explosion temporarily ceased as the occupants slept. Forge had left his window open and a large owl flew through it, morphing into a woman before it hit the floor. Mystique glanced impassively around the room, noting the mess of mechanical pieces and papers filled with technical scribbling. At least one of the Brotherhood had been working on her condition, but she doubted that the others had given her that much respect.

She walked silently into the hallway and flung open the nearest door, which happened to be Pietro's. He opened his eyes sleepily, starting as he realised who she was.

"Get up," she snarled at him, before moving on to the next door. Pietro grabbed his jeans and attempted to struggle into them, falling on his face as he tried to get both feet into the same trouser leg.

The Brotherhood assembled in varying degrees of undress in the living room, trying to hide their nervousness. Did Mystique have any idea what had happened to her statue form when she had been with them?

"If this is about the gargoyle thing…" began Fred.

"You ignorant, pathetic fools!" Mystique paced on the carpet in front of them. "You did nothing to restore me from stone. None of you!"

Pietro grinned nervously. "Well, when you didn't come back after you escaped from Area 51 we thought…"

"Shut up! You let Magneto lead you like a bunch of mindless sheep. But he's not around anymore; he's too busy being dead. I'm back in charge now, and none of you forget it."

Ignoring Wanda's stricken expression, Mystique made for the stairs. Tabby scowled. "I need a score card just to work out who's the boss around here. I feel like a ping-pong ball!"

Mystique went back to her room, waking Forge as she climbed into bed beside him. He opened one eye and looked up at her. "Raven?"

"I'm back," she confirmed as he sat up and threw his arms around her. "And I'm getting my revenge on Apocalypse for what he did to me, one way or another."

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Jean relaxed on the couch, enjoying the softness of the robe after luxuriating in a much-needed two-hour bath. Warren was preparing her the only meal he knew how to make, beans on toast.

He brought the plate over and Jean wrinkled her nose. She'd never liked beans, but she needed to get her strength back and she was too hungry to wait for anything else. She began forking the food into her mouth.

Warren sat on the end of the couch near her feet. "My parents will be back in a few days. They're in San Diego."

"A few days is all I need," replied Jean. "I just want to get healthy again. It shouldn't take long."

"What will you do then?"

"I'm going to Egypt. Apocalypse is going to pay for what he did to me."

"He brought you out of the coma…"

"I didn't _want_ to be brought out of the coma! I was happy with my psyche in Rogue's body. Her mutation made me more powerful than anyone, but he lied to Mesmero, lied to me, stole away all that power – that _potential_. I could have been the most powerful mutant on the planet and now…now I'm just me again."

"You can't go to Egypt! Magneto did that and Apocalypse killed him!"

This was news to Jean, who hadn't been in a position to keep abreast of current affairs. For a moment she considered changing her plans, then dismissed her concerns. She was too angry to be cautious.

"Then I'll need to do something he isn't expecting." Jeans green eyes sought out his blue ones. "When I go to Egypt…will you come with me?"

Warren turned and looked out at the fantastic view of the city afforded by the window. The first rays of dawn were already upon them and he was tired. He wanted to talk Jean out of her plan to confront Apocalypse – her psychic suggestion had made him believe her to be the most important person in his life, to be protected at all costs – but he knew it would be hopeless. She was going to do this with or without him. He looked back at her intense expression.

"You know I will."


	11. Powers supressed

Thanks to:

UncannyAsianGirl – The vampire analogy was from 'Salems Lot' when the people floated outside the window. My mums fave film! There will be increased amounts of the family Darkholme in later chapters. As for other eps in series 4, for the most part I won't be using them mainly because they don't affect the story here. There will be referrals to anything important (I tend to think that every one has seen the important episodes although I shouldn't. Always remember a review of yours referring to 'Impact' that I got literally about an hour after the first time it was shown on UK TV. It was cool, because I had just watched that ep!). I don't see the point in going over stuff that has no real bearing save for the changed position of Lance, but I hope you enjoy the reworking of this episode! Horsemen…I'm still not decided upon the last one, ha ha!

LadyEvils – You're right, Warren doesn't get enough Evo-attention. He's here though! And there will be something along to 'shake up' the Lancitty. After checking the look on Mystique's face in Ascension 2, I didn't think she would ever change, not really…

Kurttyscogue – I know that there will be some trials for the Lancitty element of the story, but half of your pen-name will be realised in here! I adore Lancitty, so Kurt and Kitty probably won't hook up (I say probably because I've no solid plans yet!) but Lance is gonna have some issues…

X00001 – You don't have to wait any longer! I just hope you like it.

Raphaella – I just liked the idea that the prof will extend the hand of friendship to anyone and we all know Kurt wants to mend fences with mummy…

Enfant-terrible – You're so kind, thanks! I appreciated the review for 'Unpredictable' BTW, the only one I got for the first chap! I wanted to bring Warren into the fic, but in a way that was not right at the end in a minimal part.

Oceanbang – The sub-plots were really hard in that chapter, I'm glad they made sense! Before Ascension I've no plans as to episodes, it looks like it will all be my own stuff. I've twisted the plot too far for any of them to work!

DemonRogue13 – I'm glad you enjoyed it!

XX-Goth-Gal – I won't slap you, it can be hard to tell characters apart when they're incidental, especially if you don't look at the comics (or do, but the characters aren't in recent ones).Warren was in the Xmas episode 'On Angels Wings', he was the guy with the wings! He was one of the original five X-Men but he's woefully underused in the comics lately.

Rogue14 – I'm hoping the story isn't cursed either…I'm gonna check out some of your other stories as soon as I finish up with my chapters! I loved 'I was made to love you' because certain parts of it made me laugh out loud, and I will certainly be there soon. Yeah, we Scorpios are a enigmatic and talented bunch :) And I love Emma! I have her poster up on my wall!

Furygrrl – I was beginning to wonder where you'd gone! I needed to put Warren in there because he's underused in Evo and because I was trying to think where Jean would go…the two ideas just bumped together in my head and made a storyline. Archangel? Not that I thought he was miles better than Angel, but, uh, I did! I refuse to give the horsemen away! Although you can guess by who gets splatted. This chapter sees a suggestion you made back in 'Manipulating' come into effect, and I'd like to say thanks for the idea!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"I think we should go over there and see her," said Kurt, loading his plate with sausages. "She is our mother!"

"You're mother." Rogue took a sip of her orange and looked over at his plate. "Y'know, you're gonna weigh about 300 pounds by the time you're twenty if you keep eating like this."

"I'm a growing boy!" Kurt grabbed the bacon as soon as Ray had finished with it. "And this is our second chance. We could get to know her, maybe she could explain some things to us…"

"Ah know more about her than ah want to," replied Rogue. "She's an evil, lying, manipulative bitch and ah want nothing more to do with her. You try to play happy families with her if you want, but leave me out of it."

"Rogue…"

"Leave me out of it!"

Kurt frowned but dropped the subject, concentrating instead on his breakfast. There was plenty of chat and laughter around the room; most of the students seemingly unconcerned about the emergence of the second dome in China although beneath the façade there was worry. Scott pushed scrambled eggs around his plate, having barely tasted them. He and Rogue were avoiding each other's gaze and Kurt decided that this had gone on long enough. He couldn't allow his best friend and his sister to remain miserable just because of Jean Grey. He was midway through concocting an elaborate scheme involving a locked room, a disco ball and a Celine Dion CD when the Professor entered the room, a man that none of them recognised trailing after him.

"I'm glad you're all here," said the Professor. "This is Piotr Rasputin. He'll be staying here at the Institute."

"Hi Piotr!" said Kitty chirpily. "Where are you from?"

"Russia," replied Piotr in a heavy accent.

"We're getting ever more multi-national around here," muttered Lance sulkily, not a morning person.

"Ignore him," instructed Kitty. "We're glad to have you on the team."

"Thank you." Piotr gave Kitty a smile, which didn't escape Lance's notice. He glared at the newcomer and put a possessive arm around Kitty's waist.

"Lance, I'm trying to eat," said Kitty irritably. He was still acting strangely around her, even though they'd talked through what Jean had shown him. It was beginning to get on her nerves.

"Charles!" Ororo burst into the room. "The situation in China is escalating."

""Kitty, Lance, show Piotr around the mansion." The Professor took no notice of Lance's scowl and followed Storm to the control room, where the Beast was monitoring the dome that had appeared around the Chinese pyramid.

The Professor wheeled over to the computer. "What is it Hank?"

"The Chinese military have evacuated the province so they can drop explosives on the dome."

The Professor glanced at the screen, where he could see news footage of missiles heading for the dome. "Oh no…"

There was a loud noise from the screen before the picture turned to static. The Beast began typing on the keyboard, trying to regain the visual.

"Hank?"

"Checking." The Beast put on the headset, still messing with the computer. "Reports are coming in…the dome's still there but everything else is levelled. For miles."

"And the media backlash will not be favourable to mutants." The Professor felt a headache coming on.

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"This is really bad." Rogue let the curtain drop and turned back around to face the others. "There's a mob out there. The police are holding them back, but they're pretty pissed."

"They're really loud." Kitty looked toward the window timidly.

"I still say they'd soon go away if there was a minor earth tremor." Lance glowered, one arm around his girlfriend.

"No earthquakes," said Scott. "No streams of lava, no suddenly frozen sidewalk, no electric shocks, nothing. We just ride it out. They can't stay out there forever."

Most of the New Recruits were watching the news reports, slightly worried at seeing their own house on the television. "I dunno," said Bobby. "They look like they're here for the long haul."

"International rescue teams are pouring into the site of the largest mutant-related disaster that the world has ever seen…"

"Why are they blaming _us_?" Kitty looked upset, watching the interviews with people giving their opinions on mutants. "It was the military who attacked the dome, not mutants!"

"It is human nature to find some one to blame for their problems," said Piotr. "A scrape-goat."

That elicited a giggle from Kitty. "That's _scape_goat."

"Hey look!" Rogue pointed to the TV. "It's that jerk Matthews."

"The one that did this, they call him Spyke." Duncan was stood in front of his burning car. "He lives in the sewers with a bunch of other crazed mutant lowlifes. Bayville is just not safe anymore. We gotta stand up and defend ourselves!"

"He didn't mention Evan only did that because those guys were trying to push me and Sam around." Amara glared at the image of Duncan on the screen.

"As anti-mutant hysteria grows, Bayville police try to disperse angry mobs from outside the Xavier Institute as well as the Brotherhood Boarding House."

"Do you think the Brotherhood are OK?" Kitty was worried about her former teammates – their house didn't have the protection that the mansion afforded the X-Men.

"Ah'm sure Mystique has it all under control." Rogue's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Let her see what she helped start. Might teach her a lesson."

"You must regret ever coming here," said Kurt to Piotr. "It's not usually like this."

"I am sure things will calm down when we are able to show the world that we are peaceful."

"We're not gonna be able to show them anything like that as long as Apocalypse is putting up these domes," muttered Lance.

"Hey, look on the bright side." Bobby looked over his shoulder and grinned at the older students. "If they stay there a while, we might not be able to get to school!"

"Now why doesn't that make me feel better?" Lance folded his arms and proceeded to sulk.

Another reporter took up the story. "A crazed mob now seems to be pursuing the mutant identified in earlier reports as Spyke."

"They're after Evan!" Amara jumped to her feet. "We have to stop them!"

"You stay here," instructed Scott. "You're going nowhere at the moment. Rogue, come with me."

The pair left the room and Kurt smirked. "Maybe this is his attempt at a reconciliation."

"Yeah, going out to confront a rampaging mob." Kitty rolled her eyes. "That is just like, so romantic!"

The Professor was in his study by the window, troubled by the crowd outside when Scott and Rogue burst in.

"Evan's in trouble."

Looking up, the Professor nodded and telepathically summoned Logan and Storm to help them.

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The scenes on the streets of Bayville hit Scott like a blow. He'd always known that things would get bad when mutants were revealed to the world, but he had never imagined just how bad. A gang had lured out the Morlocks and were opening fire on them. Scott was unsurprised when he realised the apparent leader of the mob was Duncan Matthews.

Scott hit the ground in front of Duncan with an optic beam, distracting the other boy from his intended target. Infuriated, Duncan opened fire on the Velocity, which was hovering above the street. Logan leapt out, Scott stopping Duncan's blast with a blast of his own. Rogue and Storm flew out of the Velocity and Scott jumped out as it landed, all of them making their way to the mob.

The Morlocks joined them, Evan shooting Scott a black look. "You shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you."

The arrival of the X-Men evened the odds and it wasn't long before most of the gang had been disarmed, their weapons rendered useless. Duncan had managed to keep hold of his weapon and aimed it at Rogue as she hovered over his car.

"Duncan, don't do this!"

"Well, if it isn't my girlfriends girlfriend. Save it. Jean's not here to stick up for you now!"

Rogue's eyes blazed. "Ah _don't_ need Jean to help me with anything! Least of all taking care of _you_." She lifted him up telekinetically and threw him across the hood of a car, ready to do some real damage to him for that last remark – but then a floodlight from overhead momentarily blinded them all.

"This is the police! Stay where you are. Put down your weapons!"

For a moment, Duncan considered doing just that – then he realised that he had a perfect shot at Spyke, the mutant who had destroyed his car. Hoping that the police were too high up to see him act, he raised the weapon and took careful aim. He paused as a small boy walked out in front of Evan, then saw the way the kid looked and realised he had to be a mutant too, probably one of the freaks from the mansion.

_Two for the price of one_ he thought as he pulled the trigger.

"No!" Evan grabbed the kid and shielded him with his own body, the blast hitting him and sending him flying. The kid grabbed his head and looked at Duncan through wide eyes, gritting his teeth before crying out.

"_NO! STOP!"_

The streetlights blinked out, followed by the lights in the nearby building, then the faint glow from the nearby streets. Evan's spikes drew back into his body for the first time in months. Duncan's gun shorted out. Rogue fell out of the sky, landing painfully on the road. Scott hurried over to check she was OK, glancing up as a loud noise indicated that the police helicopter had just crash-landed onto a nearby rooftop.

The little boy collapsed.

Evan ran over to him. "Hey, are you OK?"

"Dorian? _Dorian_!" A woman, presumably the kid's mother, hurried onto the scene and knelt beside him, cradling him in her arms. "What are you _doing_ out here?"

"It's OK mom. The headaches are gone. It doesn't hurt anymore!"

Scott helped Rogue to her feet and started to take off his visor. Rogue grabbed his arm to stop him, but Scott shook her off and removed it, for a moment afraid to open his eyes – but the pressure behind his lids that was the constant reminder of his mutation was absent and he blinked. Nothing happened. He kept his eyes open and turned to look at Rogue, her gasp barely registering as for only the second time in his life he saw her without the red tint that was a part of his life.

_And the other time I never appreciated it._

Rogue shed a glove and lifted her hand. Scott reached out to take it, grasping her fingers, caressing a knuckle with his thumb.

They both smiled.

"That kid," said Scott, not taking his eyes off Rogue. "He's somehow suppressing the energy around here, including mutant powers."

"Yeah," growled Logan, looking down at his claws before retracting them with a grimace, blood pouring from the wounds they left in his hands "How _nice_."

Duncan dropped his useless weapon. "Let's get outta here!"

"Not so fast." The mob turned to find two policemen with batons waiting for them.

The woman ushered her son away from the area, only to be stopped by Evan. "Ma'am? I'm uh, really sorry about this. I'm just glad he wasn't hurt…"

"Hurt?" The woman put her hands on her hips. "Thanks to you, my little boy's been exposed as a mutant! What chance has he for a normal life now?"

"None," Evan said sadly. "None at all."

As he dragged Dorian away, the streetlights flickered and powered up again. Evan's skin once more burst forth with plates and spikes. Scott closed his eyes quickly, shoving his visor back on. Rogue tried to pull her hand away from his, but he kept his grip tight.

"Scott, let go! Ah can't…"

"You don't know that. You haven't tried since – well, you haven't tried since you got control back."

As the lights from the surrounding buildings came back on, Rogue grimaced in anticipation of absorbing Scott, concentrating desperately on not hurting him…

A noise startled them, the siren on the police cruiser returning to life. The police officers were bundling the mob members into the car in handcuffs. Scott smirked as he thought of Duncan trying to talk his way out of this one – then glanced down, his hand still gripping Rogue's with no apparent ill effects.

"Ah don't understand," said Rogue, looking stunned. "Ah was just worried about hurtin' you and it was like mah telekinesis kicked in somehow and…and ah don't know!"

"It must be the TK that controls your powers," replied Scott.

"Ah can touch?" Rogue let go of his hand, then touched him lightly, concentrating on her absorption ability. This time they both felt the pull as her powers kicked in and Rogue snatched her hand away from him.

"Ah can control it!"

She took Scott's hand again, concentrating on not hurting him again – and nothing happened, no absorption, no loss of consciousness, nothing. Just two people enjoying the touch of each other's flesh.

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Jean glared at the dome, ignoring the devastation in the area. Warren flew alongside her, gaping as he saw the wholesale destruction of what had once been a central area of China.

"This is horrible," he murmured as they flew over the devastated locale.

"This is nothing," replied Jean. "If Apocalypse gets his way, the whole world will look like this and then we'll all be fighting to survive. Right now, we have the edge. We can do what the humans can't. Apocalypse wants us all to be mutants and if that happens, we're fighting for our lives every moment of every day. Mutants were born to rule. If everyone's a mutant, it disrupts the natural order."

They approached the dome cautiously, knowing that the combined forces of the Chinese military had no effect on the structure. Warren turned to Jean. "What now?"

"I need to get his attention." Jean put her hands to her temples, telepathically communicating with Apocalypse.

_…it's me, Jean Grey…_

_…I know who you are…_

_…you lied to me…_

_…I did no such thing. I let you believe what you needed to…_

_…come out here and face me…_

_…_

Apocalypse rose from the dome.

Warren gasped as he saw the powerful mutant for the first time, rising from the impenetrable fortress of the dome. He gave the two teens a disdainful glance. Jean didn't waste her time. Instead, she summoned the full force of her telepathy to hit him with a psychic blast.

The air rippled with energy and Warren winced, anticipating the explosion that he associated with such an outpouring of power – but there was nothing.

Frowning, Jean tried again. Apocalypse seemed unmoved by her attempts.

Realising she might have made a mistake, Jean picked up pieces of the ineffective bombs and hurled them at Apocalypse with all her psychic strength. The military may have failed, but that was against the dome, not the man…

Apocalypse reflected the objects away from him, with no apparent signs of strain.

He looked over at Jean and gestured.

Realising where this was going, Jean pulled Warren in front of her telekinetically, a human shield to defer whatever Apocalypse had in store for her. She watched in awe as Warren was encircled by what seemed to be a ball of sheer energy, hearing him scream until the ball contracted and there was nothing left…

Belatedly, she tried to fly away.

Apocalypse looked to her contemptuously and Jean found herself surrounded by a bubble. She used her powers to repel it, to no avail. It was as though she was without her powers and unable to act as the bubble closed in around her, smaller and smaller until it was impossible to breathe, and still it shrank…

Apocalypse sank back into his pyramid, satisfied. Of Warren Worthington and Jean Grey, nothing remained.


	12. Relations and Relationships

Thanks to:

Kurttyscogue – I missed out the episodes because they were superfluous to the storyline here and I would only be rehashing plots we already know about. I figured I've been mean enough to Scott and Rogue now, this is my equivalent of an apology!

LadyEvils – The Brotherhood will be back – but not here sadly. Lance and Piotr are not gonna be friends (evil chuckles). I had no idea that Avalanche had been a horseman!

X00001 – Another horseman on the horizon…and that'll made all four!

Rogue14 – (Drools over thought of naked Remy poster) Emma is too evil to kill! She rules. Mystique will be making an appearance here…

Furygrrl – Lance and Piotr are gonna have a few 'issues' (evil smirk). I was kinda worried that the Scogue was a bit sickly, but I'm still feeling guilty for all the torture. I promise no zombie-hobo Jean, but I think I can manage a touch of Phoenix…

DemonRogue13 – Glad you like it!

Akaineko – I'm glad you like the story, although the Scogue isn't to your taste. I haven't exactly forgotten Gambit, but I found the romance in Evo a bit forced. Check out my Jeance fic for some Romy in an uncoming chapter! (shameless self advertising!)

XX-Goth-Gal – Nah, Warren was barely around in Evo, considering he was one of the original members of the X-Men. And I'm looking forward to making him the eil Archangel! The teams who face the horsemen will be very different, but you'll have to wait and see which, if any, Morlocks go with.

Enfant-terrible – A convert to Jean fandom, cool! I'm glad you like the story!

Oceanbang – I wasn't gonna give Rogue control back, but then I wondered why I had to be so mean and changed my mind. And Lance is gonna hate Piotr!

UncannyAsianGirl – There are some Darkholme family conversations in here! I'm not sure that Piotr/Lance/Kitty will become a triangle, but I think he'd enhance Lance's current relationship issues. Yeah, in 'Manipulating' the Cauldron episode, Scott removed his visor and got a good look at Rogue, but he was a bit too concerned with mutant domination to appreciate it. I thought the TK could be used to hold back her powers although I didn't think of Cable it's a good analogy. Even if her lack of control is psychological, it would cause her to believe she can control it. I think. About the fourth horseman, I'm saying nothing…only that it might not be who you think it is. And thanks for the recommendation! I'll be sure to check it out.

Author Note: Please forgive the lateness of this chapter (Goddamn real life). I'm back on track now though! I also have another fic on the go at the moment, called 'Unpredictable' (more shamelss self advertising!) if you'd like to check out other things I'm writing!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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When Scott and Rogue got back to the Institute, they had planned to go to the rec room and wait for some one to notice they were touching. Scott figured he could take some good-natured teasing if it meant that Rogue could show off her control. But when the Beast met them in the hangar, his expression grim, they realised that there might not be time for jokes.

"There have been new developments in China." The Beast led the two teens and the other three instructors through to the control room, giving Rogue a sideways look that she didn't like one bit.

"Don't tell me the military made another strike," said Logan.

"Some one did. And it turned out much the same way as it did for Magneto." The Beast paused and turned to look at them. "It was Warren and Jean."

"Angel? With _Jean_? Why?" Rogue couldn't believe what she was hearing. It didn't seem possible that Jean could be dead…

But the footage of the attack left no room for doubt. The Beast played back the film that had been captured by the Chinese Military's cameras, showing Jean making an abortive attempt to defeat Apocalypse, using Warren as a shield but still unable to escape. Both of them being surrounded by energy fields that compressed until they were no longer there.

"Ah never thought Jean would get into that situation," said Rogue as she stared at the screen. "Ah never thought she'd get…you know. Killed."

Scott put an arm around her shoulders. "What was Warren doing with her?"

"She met Warren when she was pretending to be me and ah guess she thought he'd have a place for her to hide and she could do what she liked to his head without anyone noticing."

"You think she used her telepathy to make him go with her?"

"Ah'd put money on it. Because of her nasty games, Warren died too…oh no, who'll tell his parents?"

"I'd imagine they already know," said the Professor. "It was on all the news channels."

Rogue glanced at the screen again, the picture frozen to show Apocalypse sinking back into the dome. "Do the other students know?"

"I think so," replied the Beast. "They've been glued to the TV all night watching the anti-mutant riots escalating – how was the situation outside the mansion?"

"A sudden heavy rain shower seemed to put most of them off." Storm allowed herself a slight smile.

"Ah need to speak to Lance and Kitty," said Rogue. "We were all at the Brotherhood together and we all got brainwashed by her…ah just don't know how to feel."

"Let's go find them." Scott and Rogue walked out of the door, leaving the adults to contemplate the recent developments.

"What was she thinking?" Storm sighed and shook her head. "Why did she have to go on some revenge mission?"

"The same reasons Magneto had," said the Professor bleakly. "When she felt threatened, she attacked without thinking."

"Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter now." The Beast leant over and turned off the screen. "The outcome's still the same."

In the rec room, most of the X-Men were gathered around the TV, talking excitedly. A few of them had shot looks at Kitty and Lance, who had withdrawn from the conversation as soon as the futile attack by Jean and Warren had been shown. Everyone in the mansion knew that the pair had once been on the same team as Jean.

When Scott and Rogue walked in, there was a slight pause in the noise before everyone began talking at once. Scott held his hands up in an appeal for quiet. "We already know. Don't you have a danger room session at 5-30 in the morning?"

Grumbling to themselves, the New Recruits left the room. Lance and Kitty stayed, as did Kurt and Piotr. The Russian looked a little uncomfortable. "You want I also should go?"

"Yeah," said Lance.

"No." Kitty gave Piotr a smile. "Stay. You might like, help us get a fresh look at all this."

"The Beast just told us about Jean." Rogue sat on the sofa and glared at the TV, showing the results of a football game. "I just can't believe it."

"Me either." Kitty sat curled up in an easy chair, Lance sat on the arm beside her. "She always seemed so – in control. Oh, sorry Rogue."

"That's OK."

"I never thought she'd let herself go up against some one who could beat her so easily," said Lance. "Remember when she got put on the soccer team? She didn't need to use her powers, but sometimes she would anyway. The opposing teams' cheerleaders fell on their asses too many times for it to be a coincidence."

"Yeah." Kitty smirked vaguely at the reminder. "Remember when she brainwashed Taryn into telling Arcade she had a crush on him?"

"Ah think he's still following her around," said Rogue with a smile. "Ah thought ah'd be ecstatic when Jean died, but now ah don't know. Ah feel…ah dunno. Not sad exactly, but not as happy as ah thought ah'd be."

"Me either," said Kitty. "I never hated her as much as you did, but I didn't think I'd miss her after all the things she did."

"You are both capable of compassion for this friend gone bad," said Piotr carefully.

Lance rolled his eyes and jumped up. "Uh, hello! Jean was a bitch who used us, brainwashed us, almost killed me, trapped Rogue in her own head for months and sold us out to Apocalypse! Why do we all feel sorry for her all of a sudden? As far as I'm concerned, she got what she deserved and about time."

"Lance!" Kitty jumped up too. "Jean's _dead_! No one deserves that!"

"No? Wake up Kitty. You're turning her into a misunderstood saint and she wasn't. She was a cold bitch who thought that the rest of us were just here to use and throw away afterward. And now you're sorry for her? Save the pity for when Apocalypse does whatever it is he's gonna do to the rest of us."

Kitty stared at him, her eyes beginning to tear over. "You're such a – a _shit_! She's _dead_ and OK, she was a bitch but you don't need to be so fucking _pleased_ about it!"

Everyone watched in stunned silence as she stormed out of the room. None of them had ever heard Kitty go into a screaming rage at anyone or use some of the words she just had.

"Kitty was right Lance," said Rogue with a contemptuous look. "You are a shit." She left the room to go after Kitty in the hopes of calming her down.

"There was no need to upset her," said Piotr reproachfully.

Lance spun around, clenching his fists. "You ridin' me Tin-Can? 'Cause I got no problems taking you out, right here, right now!"

Scott glanced around in alarm as the room began to shake. "Calm down Lance! What's with you?"

"Nothing's with me!" Lance stalked out of the room, the other two watching him.

"He's a very angry boy," said Piotr, the understatement of the year.

"But he's not normally like this," said Kurt thoughtfully. "Something's been really bugging him lately."

Lance hurried through the mansion, cursing himself. Now he'd done it. Kitty would probably ditch him and run straight into the arms of the big Russian asshole she seemed so fond of. And it was his own fault.

But he was so afraid, all the time, ever since he'd seen the path his life should have taken courtesy of Jean Grey. Always worried that he might really be like that, that he'd attack Kitty just because she was in his way, or attempt to hurt other people because he was given the order to…

_…they're comin after us…_

_…then bury 'em…_

The images in his head were driving him insane. He couldn't deal with it anymore.

On a whim he changed direction, heading to the control room where he knew the instructors would still be trying to work out exactly what had happened to Jean and Warren. Outside the door he paused, wondering if he really wanted to do this – then the image of Kitty running away from him through the office of Northbrook High and his reaction, dropping half the ceiling on her head. Mind made up, he shoved the door open and walked into the room.

The Professor and the Beast were still working at the computer, Logan and Storm nowhere in sight. The Professor turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Lance? Can we help you?"

"Uh, yeah…" Lance was beginning to have second thoughts. "I need you to go into my mind."

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Mesmero stalked the streets of Bayville long after most of its citizens had retired to bed. Apocalypse had given him a job to do and he was going to do it without the interference of the X-Men, thanks to the protection of his master. There was only one person who could know he was here…

He heard the scraping of a manhole cover and smirked, waiting for the new arrival.

"Why are you here? What isss it that you want?"

"I come with an offer from Apocalypse."

"The one in the dessssert."

"He wants you to stand by his side in the upcoming battle, to be part of the bright new future instead of hiding in the sewers. Isn't that what you always wanted?"

"Yesss…"

"Apocalypse can offer you that. You can come out of hiding, stop being afraid of the humans. And he will improve your powers."

Mesmero didn't like the sound of silence that greeted this information. But he had known that this horseman might need a little push…

He didn't need to enslave the mans mind, but he did take advantage of the indecision to steer the outcome in the desired direction.

"I will come with you."

There was no need for them to use air travel when Apocalypse's power had grown so much. A blue portal appeared at the end of the alley and Mesmero herded Caliban into it.

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Kurt awoke the next morning and dressed in a hurry, teleporting into the kitchen and grabbing himself a sandwich before the others were up. He considered waking his sister for a moment, then chose not to. Rogue might have saved Mystique from her stone form, but she was serious when she said she wanted no more to do with the woman. But Kurt wanted answers.

Chewing thoughtfully on the sandwich, he heard the noise of the New Recruits heading to the kitchen after their Danger Room session and teleported away, arriving outside the Brotherhood house. There were no signs of activity, so Kurt crept tentatively closer, wondering if he should just enter the house or maybe knock on the door…

"What are you doing here?"

Kurt turned and saw the gun pointed in his face, the blue face of his mother out of focus behind it. "Just to talk!"

Mystique frowned, tucking the gun into a holster on her hip. Kurt began breathing again. "Did Xavier send you?"

"No, I just needed to – why are you carrying a gun?"

"Target practice."

"Isn't it illegal to discharge a gun within Bayville limits?"

"So?"

"You didn't have to point it at me."

"You're sneaking around my house. I want to know why."

"I was looking for you. I wanted to ask you about – well, about my past. What happened to me?"

Mystique's look was almost pitying. "I was running away and I dropped you. You were rescued and adopted by a German family."

"Why did you run? What were you doing with Magneto?"

"Jean found all this out when she touched me?"

"And she let Rogue know about it. You're not answering the question."

Mystique looked him straight in the eye. "I do what I have to do to get by. I always have."

"Why are you so full of anger?"

"I don't harbour false hope about the future of mutants and humans. Better to know that we'll be hated and return that than to plan for peace that will never happen." Mystique dropped her gaze. "I always regretted what happened and I thought about you every day, but I did what I had to do. I can't answer any more of your questions. I can't tell you what you want to hear."

Mystique turned and walked back toward the house. Kurt wanted to go after her and for a moment he was going to – then a silver streak raced out of the house and grabbed the morning paper. Pietro. With a sigh, he teleported back to the grounds of the Institute.

Jamie was outside, playing basketball with five clones. Kurt 'ported four feet into the air, caught the ball, 'ported over to the net and sunk the ball, much to the annoyance of the Jamie's.

"What's going on?" asked Kurt.

"Not much," said Jamie, absorbing the duplicates. "Kitty's in bed with the flu and the Professor went to Scotland with Scott, Rogue and Storm. There's a rumour that the Professor's got a secret kid there!"

"Parents all have their little secrets," muttered Kurt miserably. Then he sneezed.


	13. Of Sins and Second Chances

Thanks to:

Kurttyscogue – There will be lots of teleporting fun in this chapter!

LadyEvils – The wait for this chapter was longer, sorry! Some Lance angst here. I agree with him too about everyone forgetting that Jean was evil because she's no longer around.

XX-Goth-Gal – I hadn't thought of making Lucas/David/Ian a horseman until you said and it's too late now I guess (although he'd be a helluva good one!) Teleporty goodness right here.

Raphaella – I thought that Kurt and Mystique didn't really interact enough in Evo and I'm glad I was able to rectify that a little.

X00001 – X23 will show up in the last couple of chapters, I disliked her at first but then she kinda grew on me.

Enfant-terrible – Getting kicked off the computer sucks! My computer does that to me well enough without any outside help.

Furygrrl – Caliban was Pestilence during his time with the horsemen. As for Legacy sub-plots, I think I'd get confused, although I'd love to try something along those lines at some point. Lance angst aplenty though! And Jean will back very soon…

Rogue14 – It would have been easy for Rogue to defeat Lucas, assuming that she went to Scotland instead of Jean. And I wanted Kurt to have some more interaction with Mommy-dearest because I always love the intricacies of their relationship and although there's not much here, there's more to come!

UncannyAsianGirl – Caliban was Pestilence (although it could have been funny to give that accolade to Avalanche this time – Pesti-Lance, geddit?) and Wolverine was War for about 5 minutes not that long ago. One of the morlocks was also Pestilence at some point. I don't know what the Hulk was, but there's an image of a horseman to give even the most sturdy flaming spectral horse the shudders! I love Mystique's gun fascination, because she doesn't have any real attack powers in the comics. And I owe you for parts of the subplot so thanks for that! Incidentally, ever noticed that Toad dresses like a very grubby version of Pietro? Now THAT'S scary!

Oceanbang – Lucas will be raising his head right here! More Lance and Kitty here and there will be more Kurt/Mystique angst and probably Rogue too before the fic is done.

DemonRogue13 – Glad you enjoyed it!

Author Note: This chapter was really hard for me and you may find it a little too close to the episode. Sorry about that. But I'm back into the swing of things now! I had no intention of writing a 'Sins of the Son' chapter, but everyone was so eager to see Lucas that I added it. I apologise for the long wait for this chapter and hope you enjoy the extra-mega-long chapter that this is!

Disclaimer: When Jean read Destiny's mind, she discovered that in another world I own all the X-Men and Marvel comics and the entire universe. Sadly, in this world I own nothing more than the idea for this story. Not the stuff that fortunes are made of.

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Scott and Lance sat in the back of the X-Jet, both of them pretending not to listen as the Professor spoke to his ex-wife over the headset. The thought of the Professor having a wife they knew nothing about, coupled with a son that _he_ knew nothing about, made them both curious.

"This is too weird," said Lance, pitching his voice low in the hope that the Professor or Storm wouldn't overhear. "The Professor has an ex-wife we didn't even know about?"

Ororo cleared her throat and glanced over her shoulder at them, clearly wanting them to drop the subject. "Why don't you two check in with the mansion, see how Kitty is doing?"

"Uh, yeah, good idea," replied Scott, embarrassed. He connected them to the Institute on the videophone and after a few moments, Mr McCoy's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey," said Scott. "Just thought we'd check in."

"How's Kitty?" asked Lance. "Flu any better?"

"No, but she's got company," the Beast informed them. "Kurt's down with it too."

"Great," muttered Lance. "If she's infectious, I'll catch it for sure."

"If she'd go anywhere near you, you'd stand a better chance," said Scott.

"Get bent." Lance scowled. "Not you Mr McCoy. I'll check in on her later."

"She'll be fine," said the Beast before the screen went dark.

Lance leaned back in his seat. He felt fine. He wasn't sure if he was glad about that or not. And it was the first time he had hoped that the big metal Russian _didn't_ come down with something contagious. But that line of thought was dangerous and he tried to take his mind off it by debating the issue at hand. The Professor's secret son.

Professor Xavier sighed as he sensed both boys looking at the back of his head and knowing that he owed them some kind of explanation after dragging them away from the Institute. "Alright, her name is Gabrielle Haller. Yes we were married – briefly – many years ago. And yes, we had a son I knew nothing of until today."

Lance realised that the Professors tone sounded exactly like his own when he was angry about something, nothing like the calm, measured tone he'd used the previous day when he'd been reassuring the boy about the images that Jean had left in his head.

"And now…he's been kidnapped."

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"A-CHOO!"

_Crash!_

"AAA-CHOO!"

"_Gross_!"

"A-_CHOO_!"

_Bang_!

"Must you _imbeciles_ destroy my house!"

Mystique surveyed the damage. So far, Fred had sneezed himself through a door, Todd had left trails of slime all over the floor and between Tabby and Wanda, all the furniture had exploded. It didn't help that she felt lousy herself and every time she sneezed, she changed shape briefly. It had scared the hell out of the girl scouts who'd come to sell them cookies.

"A-CHOO!" Toad sneezed, a trail of slime hitting the window and beginning to slide slowly south. Looking at it made Mystique feel ill. Ws this the reason she'd returned to the house?

"Toad, _get out of my sight_!"

"I'm gone," said Toad, hopping up the stairs with the glass of juice he'd come down for.

"AAA-CHOO!"

Mystique winced as the ceiling shook. That one had to be Blob. He could probably trash the house all on his own.

"Here you go Raven," said Forge, entering the living room with a tray balanced with orange juice and chicken soup. He'd somehow avoided coming down with the flu that plagued her and she was beginning to resent it.

"It's about time," she said irritably.

"A-CHOO!"

_Smash!_

"TABITHA!"

"I'll deal with it," said Forge soothingly. He rested the tray on her knees and went up the stairs to attempt to nursemaid the other mutants. Mystique growled as she contemplated the structural damage that could be done by a group of teens with explosive powers and the flu. She just hoped the X-Men were having an equally bad time of things.

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Scott and Lance glanced through the missing boys things, examining the room for any indications of where he might be. Scott picked up a snow globe; shaking it absently and watching the flakes fall. "Man, remind me never to disappear. I'd hate to have strangers going through _my_ stuff like this."

"Why?" Lance set down the picture he'd been looking at and smirked. "You got something to hide?"

"Not nearly as much as you have," replied Scott, not noticing that the other boy's attention was no longer on the conversation.

A small boy was peering around the door, watching what they were doing. Lance walked over to him. "Hey…"

The kid looked up at him and fled.

"Wait!"

Scott looked around. "What is it?"

"A kid. A boy." Lance went into the hallway and saw nothing. He walked further down the hall, wondering if the kid had maybe ducked into one of the other rooms but not wanting to pry. Before he could call out again, Gabrielle stepped into the hallway.

"Uh, who's the kid I just saw?"

"That's Ian. David found him living on the street, he's been with us ever since."

Scott walked up behind Lance. "Has he said anything at all about David?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "No, but…Ian doesn't talk. As far as I can tell, he knows nothing."

Lance frowned. "Maybe a telepath could get a better answer. We should see if the Professor could get anything out of him."

Scott nodded. "You see if you can find Ian, I'll speak to the Professor."

Lance hurried off in the direction of the front hall, surmising that Ian might have left the house to hide from them and hoping that the kid would have stayed nearby. It was what he would have done at the same age. As he stepped out of the front door, he saw a shadow moving away from the house. A part of him thought it was too large to be Ian, but then logic took over – whom else could it be?

"Ian? Hey, wait!"

Lance ran after the shadow, away from the house – then a wall of flame sprang up, circling around him and cutting off any chance of retreat. Lance growled as he saw a teenage boy approaching him, wearing leather pants and a white shirt. Rolling his eyes back in his head, Lance attempted to knock the boy off balance with an earth tremor.

That guy has to know where David is… 

The boy staggered slightly, then rose in the air above the shaking ground. Lance realised he was in trouble, but before he could send a message to the Professor, the boy narrowed his eyes and sent a psychic blast at the X-Man, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. The flames dissipated, their purpose served.

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"A-CHOO!"

_Splat._

"Toad! Use a tissue!"

Mystique smirked slightly at the sound of Forge trying to take care of the rest of the Brotherhood. She knew they were all going crazy confined to their rooms with nothing to do, but she wanted to sit out her sickness with full use of the television and none of their complaints about the channels she chose to watch.

Not that there was much on during the day. She flipped through the channels, finally settling on a chat show where the guests had about seven teeth between them and seemed about to beat each other over the head with their chairs. She'd just gotten into the discussion, apparently the husband had run off with the wife's now-pregnant daughter, when –

_Bamf! _

Mystique glanced over to the centre of the room where her son had just appeared, fast asleep. Hanging onto his tail was a wet and dishevelled Kitty Pryde.

"Shadowcat. Isn't this a surprise. Nice pyjamas."

"Mystique!" Kitty attempted a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Uh, the thing is that uh, Kurt has the flu and he keeps teleporting – we'll just get out of here."

Kitty began dragging Kurt towards the front door by his tail. Mystique debated making it difficult for the girl and decided she didn't have the energy. At least she knew where the bug that struck down her team had come from.

"AAA-_CHOO_!"

Wanda had been attempting to go downstairs for a glass of juice when the sneeze caused her to lose control of her powers, a hex bolt flying into the hallway and blasting Kitty. With a shriek, Kitty began beating on her smouldering hair. Mystique, witnessing the whole scene as she watched the girl leaving, began to laugh. Kitty glared at her, opening her mouth to shout…

"A-CHOO!"

_Bamf! _

Wanda glanced disinterestedly at where the two X-Men had been just a moment ago before going into the kitchen. Forge hurried downstairs, rather alarmed to hear his formally fractious lover in hysterics.

"Are you OK Raven?"

Mystique grinned at him. "I'm suddenly feeling much better."

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Lance opened his eyes to see two punks looking down at him. Realising that his wrists were shackled behind his back and his ankles were similarly restrained, he tried to sit up, wondering what his best course of revenge might be – working out how he got there could wait until after he'd beaten some one up. The punks walked away as Lance managed to use a rock to lean against, hoping it would give him some leverage to get into a sitting position.

Unexpectedly, the shackles around his wrists fell off. Pulling his hands from behind him, Lance tried to rub some feeling back into them. Looking up, he saw the same guy who had psychic blasted him back at the house leaning against the wall, smirking.

"Who are you?"

"Some one like you." The shackles around Lance's ankles flew across the room, the boy not seeming to have anything to do with the action. "A mutant. But my friends call me Lucas."

"I don't know how the hell you got me here," snarled Lance, the realisation that he didn't know where _here_ was making him even angrier. "But you made a _big_ mistake."

Lance started toward Lucas, clenching his fists, intending to kick the crap out of him. Lucas gestured contemptuously in his direction and suddenly Lance was unable to move. A psychic blast knocked him over backwards, although this time the energy wasn't so intense and Lance managed to remain conscious.

"Come on, the fun's just starting. People come here and they never want to leave. I think you'll like it here too Lance."

"I don't think so." Lance sat up, wondering how the hell he could take a mutant he couldn't lay a hand on, eyeing the wall Lucas leant against. Maybe a localised earthquake could bury him.

"Of course you will. No one here cares that you're a mutant. No more taking care of a girlfriend who doesn't need you anymore. No more worrying about who you are and who you were supposed to be…"

"You've been inside my head!" Lance stood up, fists still clenched but knowing he couldn't get anywhere near Lucas before the boy stopped him, probably couldn't bring the wall down before he picked up on the thought.

Lucas took a step forward as Lance headed for the exit. "Stay."

"You might be able to stop me from kicking your teeth down your throat, but you can't stop me from leaving."

"Well, actually I can."

For the third time that night, Lance found himself at the mercy of Lucas's powers, this time flung against the wall.

Lucas headed for the stairs. "I can do whatever I want, but you'll stay because it's the only way you're going to find David."

Lucas disappeared out of Lance's sight, leaving the other boy to think about what he'd just heard. Being thrown around by this Lucas character made his blood boil, but the mission was to find David. So he'd just have to search the place, find the kid and hope that the others worked out where to look for him before he had to confront Lucas again.

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"A-CHOO!"

_Bamf! _

"Oh no…"

"…Through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil…"

The vicar was pointedly ignoring the sudden intrusion by the graveside. The mourners were less focused, the whispers beginning as the blue furry boy continued to snore and the girl in the pink pyjamas hung on to his tail and attempted to look like she'd just dropped by to pay her last respects.

"…Thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff…"

"_Kurt_!" hissed Kitty, yanking on the boys tail.

"A-CHOO!"

_Bamf! _

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Xavier glanced around worriedly. Lance had defiantly been there, the displaced ground and the tremor they had all felt within the house suggesting that he had used his powers – and yet he was gone, vanished without a trace.

Scott wheeled a motorcycle down the ramp of the X-jet as Storm arrived back. The Professor turned to the woman. "Storm, anything?"

"No sign of Lance or the boy, but I did spot the glow of some fires burning toward the cliffs."

"Oh, that's probably McFadden Castle," said Gabrielle dismissively. "Teenagers have been using those ruins for parties."

"I'll go over there to look for him," said Scott.

"Right," said Xavier. "But be cautious. Three people are already missing, we don't need a fourth."

"I will Professor." Scott revved the bikes engine and roared off.

Xavier watched him go before returning his attention to Storm. "In the meantime, let's search for Ian. I believe he knows more than he's letting on."

Scott rode the bike up to the castle, finding it easily when he saw the glow of the fires in the distance. As he approached the ruins, he could hear loud heavy metal music and see stragglers from the party. It occurred to him that under normal circumstances, Lance wouldn't have needed kidnapping to get him to a place like this.

As he left his bike at the entrance and walked further into the ruins, the people around giving him amused glances. Belatedly, Scott realised how out of place he looked. He certainly didn't fit in with the people here.

_If only Rogue were here…_

He shoved the thought away. Rogue might blend in better, but there was something strange going on that made him glad she wasn't. Besides, she was at school.

Spying a break in the wall that seemed to lead further into the ruins, he went in that direction surprised to see Lance lurking in the shadows. Before he could ask the other boy what the hell he was doing hanging around a party instead of helping them search for the Professors kidnapped son, Lance pulled him out of sight of the crowd.

"Ow!"

"Shhh. Stay out of sight."

"Alvers, what are you doing here?"

"David's here someplace."

Scott frowned. "But how did you get here?"

"I was following Ian and…look, it's a long story. But David's been snatched by a mutant, Lucas."

"Then it's time I introduced myself."

Scott strode out into the crowd of partygoers. Lance pulled a face. "Shit, what an asshole!"

Lucas turned his attention from the girl he'd been chatting up to Scott. "Ah, I see the Professors favourite student has come to crash the party. Up for some fun?"

"Listen Dracula, kidnapping two people isn't my idea of a good time."

_What a dork_ thought Lance. But Scott's show of bravado just might have distracted Lucas enough for him to make a move…

"Well then." Lucas gestured toward Scott and the boy flew into the wall. "Is that _entertaining_ enough for you?"

Lucas was in the centre of the crowd, away from any walls. Lance concentrated on the ground beneath the boy, hoping to open a fissure and drop him in – but Lucas was already wise to his plan, throwing him into the wall beside Scott. The momentary distraction was enough for Scott to unleash an optic blast, which bounced harmlessly off a psychic shield Lucas easily erected. Another psychic blast rendered both boys unconscious.

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"A-CHOO!"

_Bamf! _

"GAAAH!"

"Oh, uh, excuse me!" Kitty turned her back quickly as the guy zipped up his flies and fled the urinal. Blushing furiously, she began yanking on Kurt's tail in the hopes of waking him up.

"Kurt! Kurt, we're in the men's room at school! Wake up and get us out of here before…"

The door swung open. Kitty looked up and realised that the day just couldn't get any worse.

"Uh – hi Principal Kelly!"

"A-CHOO!"

_Bamf! _

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Lance was getting tired of waking up not knowing where he was or how he got there.

At least he still seemed to be in McFadden Castle. A glance around showed no sign of Scott, but looking up he could see Lucas silhouetted in a hole in the ceiling, the only way to leave the room.

"I know what you're thinking, and you can't."

Lance glared up at the boy. "I can't what?"

"You can't avalanche your way out of here. Not without bringing the entire mountain down on your head, not to mention all those innocent people out there."

A stone slid over the opening, cutting off the last of the light and all hopes of escape.

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The car slid silently through the dense fog, carrying the worried inhabitants further into the night, searching for a little boy. Xavier peered through the windshield. "Visibility's getting worse by the minute. Storm, can you clear the way?"

Storm's eyes went white as she used her powers to thin the fog – revealing Ian standing directly in the cars path. With a gasp Storm yanked the wheel over to the side, the car skidding off the road and coming to a halt, apparently not fazing the boy at all.

Gabrielle was out of the car as soon as it stopped, running into the road and dropping to her knees before him. "Ian! What are you doing out here?"

"It's all right Ian." Xavier had manoeuvred himself into his wheelchair and made his way over to them. "We just want to find out some information."

Storm frowned as she saw Xavier's face, apparently not liking what he found in the boys mind. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure. Something's blocking my efforts to reach in – almost like a mutant power."

The Professor touched Ian's head and received a series of jumbles images…

Fire, David, Ian, McFadden Castle, a teenage boy called…Lucas? 

Xavier pulled his hand away. "McFadden Castle. They're at the ruins."

Ian turned and ran away, heading toward the ruins. Gabrielle began running after him, calling his name, Xavier and Storm following – until the boy paused, glancing back at them, a wall of flame erupting between him and his pursuers.

Gabrielle backed away, shocked. "He's a mutant!"

"Yes," replied the Professor sombrely. "And worse, I'm afraid his loyalties are with David's abductor."

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Lance glared at the walls of his prison. His eyes had adjusted to the gloom, but it only told him that Lucas had been right, it would be almost impossible for him to use his powers to free himself.

_Almost_ impossible.

One wall seemed less solid than the others, suggesting that it lead to another part of the ruins rather than the mountain. It was either try that or sit in this room until some one decided to free him, or he rotted.

A slight tremble caused a few chunks of the wall to fall, revealing light at the other side. Smiling at the vindication of his theory, Lance hit the wall with another tremor, larger pieces of the wall plunging down, revealing another chamber.

Waving the dust away from his face, Lance climbed through the gap in the wall and saw a teenage boy cautiously uncovering his head. The face was familiar; the same boy smiled out of the portrait that dominated Gabrielle's living room.

"David?"

The boy frowned. "Who are you?"

"Uh, a friend of your fathers."

David snorted as he got to his feet. "What? You mean he actually came?"

"Yeah," replied Lance, looking around and spotting what looked like a grate in the ceiling. "But right now we have to get out of here."

Climbing onto one of the fallen rocks, he managed to jump up and grab the grating, pulling it out of its moorings. Another leap and he grabbed the side of the hole, dragging himself up and out, hanging over to pull David up.

Lance realised he was lost. "Any idea how to get out of here?"

"I made it out once, but it was by accident. We go until we hear music."

They walked on a while in silence, Lance listening out for any distant strains of songs. "Damn, if I could just get a signal to your dad…"

"Yeah, like he cares."

Lance frowned. "He does. He's a good guy. You just don't know him."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Your moms. She never told him about you. Look, perhaps you ought to talk to them about all this."

"He never knew about me?" David scowled as the sound of the party was finally heard. "Right. Lucas says he's one of the most powerful telepaths on the planet – how could he _not_ know?"

"Maybe he was busy worrying about the people he did know about," muttered Lance guiltily, before the last question caught up with his brain. "Wait – Lucas _knows_ about the Professor?"

"That's what all this is about," replied David. "So he can go brain-to-brain with the great Charles Xavier."

"That's why Lucas wants us here," said Lance. "We're bait!"

David shrugged, apparently not caring.

Hearing the music, Lance indicated to David. "Come on, we're close. We have to get out of here and warn the Professor about Lucas."

Topside, the car containing Xavier, Storm and Gabrielle pulled up and they got out, ignoring the glares of the crowd. Xavier led the way through the ruins, to where Scott was hung to a wall by his wrists, an iron mask over his head.

Xavier gasped. "Scott!"

Storm and Gabrielle undid the manacles and Scott fell to the floor, taking off the mask hurriedly.

"Are you alright Scott?"

"I – I think so. But I don't know where Lance is – "

"Don't worry. I sense he's close."

Lance chose that moment to emerge from the ruins, David close behind him. The blonde boy took one look at his mother and went over to give her a hug.

"Where were you Alvers?"

"You just had to get in his face, asshole."

"I didn't see you doing anything."

"Screw you. You know how many walls I got thrown into today?"

Gabrielle stepped back, her hands still on David's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine mum."

Gabrielle looked nervous as the Professor wheeled himself over. "Uh, David, I'd like you to meet Charles Xavier."

David took a step toward the Professor and extended his hand. "Father."

The Professor smiled, taking the boys hand. The moment he did so David shrank back, his body seeming to ripple and morph, shrinking – and suddenly Ian was where David had been previously. Flames encircled the group, the partygoers shouting in alarm and fleeing the ruins.

Scott gasped. "Ian? You're David?"

Ian snatched his hand away from the Professor and covered his face, his body once again changing form. Scott and Lance both scowled as they recognised Lucas standing before them.

"Sometimes, sometimes not. Very vexing actually. But now that I'm here, I'd like a little quality time with my dad!"

Scott, Lance, Storm and Gabrielle were flung through the flames, landing relatively unharmed on the other side. Storm was the first to her feet. "Charles!"

_…no wait let me handle him…_

Within the flames, Lucas used his powers to pull the Professors wheelchair closer. He leant down and grinned. "Let's bond, shall we?"

The other four waited anxiously, wondering what to do. Neither Lance nor Scott's powers would do much against the flames and Storm didn't dare risk a downpour. The Professors son was obviously incredibly powerful and with Charles still in the circle, there was no telling what Lucas would do if agitated.

Lucas's voice rose, remonstrating angrily with the Professor. Rocks began falling from the ruins, Scott blasting a few that came too near and giving Lance an accusing look, although he knew the other boy had nothing to do with it. He blamed it on habit.

They all heard David talking within the flames and the Professor replying, although they couldn't make out the words. Then everything went quiet. A few seconds later the flames died, revealing David lying on the floor before the Professor, who was sank down in his chair. But he found the strength to wheel over to David, the others crowding around.

Xavier looked worried. "D-David?"

David slowly got to his knees, looked up at the Professor – and morphed into Lucas.

"No!" Xavier gasped. "Where's David?"

Lucas got to his feet and shrugged. "You sent him away, along with Ian!"

Gabrielle stared at the person her son had become. "What did you _do_?"

"_Exactly_ what I brought him here to do!" Lucas floated up into the air. "You were the only one strong enough old man. The only one who could get rid of the others. And you did it! You set me free!"

Lucas flew straight up into the air, vanishing from sight. Gabrielle watched him and covered her face, beginning to sob quietly as the Professor hung his head, contemplating what this failure had cost him.

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The Beast watched as the four passengers left the X-jet, looking sombre. He approached Xavier before the man could leave the hangar. "Good to have you back Professor. If there's anything you need…"

"Yes, thank you Hank," replied Xavier curtly before wheeling off. Scott decided to go and find Rogue, heading off toward the Danger Room where most of the students had a session scheduled with Logan. Lance considered going to check on Kitty, knowing that he ought to try making some peace with her, but put it off briefly to go after the Professor.

Lance saw the Professor heading into his room and hesitated for a moment, knowing that he probably wanted to be alone but wanting to help. The door wasn't closed properly and he let himself in, seeing Xavier out on the balcony. He went out there, intending to say something supportive, but in the end he could think of nothing and remained quiet, expecting Xavier to tell him to leave.

"Do you know what the tragic part is?"

Lance shrugged, surprised that the Professor had said anything.

"I lost him, before I even found him."

"Don't lose hope Professor," said Lance. "Someday we'll find him again and you'll be there for him like you are for us."

"If Gabrielle had been honest with me, if David had been honest with her, this whole situation may have been avoided." Xavier stared out across the grounds of the mansion. "Pride can be destructive Lance. Why don't you go and talk to Kitty?"

"You want me to do it now?"

"Sometimes later is too late."

Lance took the hint and left the Professor to his own thoughts, heading off toward Kitty's room. He put his head around the door, expecting her to shout at him or perhaps turn her back – he deserved it after the way he'd behaved – but the room was empty. He frowned, trying to decide whether he should wait for her to return, then heard the familiar _bamf!_ from Kurt's room down the hall, followed by a crash, and went to investigate.

Nothing could have prepared him for the scene he walked in on. Kurt was trying to defend himself as a dirty, sodden Kitty pummelled him with a pillow.

"School! Down_town_! In the _park_! At a _funeral_! The _Brotherhood house_! I can never show my face in Bayville _again_!"

Feathers escaped the pillow as it smacked Kurt in the face.

"_OW_! What? I've been here – _OW_! – all day! You're delirious!"

The thrown pillow knocked him off the bed. Kitty clenched her fists and growled, turning on her heel to leave and almost walking straight into Lance.

"Is this a bad time?"

"I don't have anything to say to you, you jerk." Kitty shoved her way past him and stormed into the hall.

"Kitty, wait." Lance caught her arm. "I – I came to apologise."

"And?"

"And I'm sorry."

"So now you've apologised. Leave me alone."

Kitty went into her room and Lance winced as she slammed the door. He followed her, walking straight into her room and causing her to hastily yank her pyjama top back down halfway through pulling it off.

"Get out!"

"I have to talk to you now. It can't wait."

"You're sorry, I know."

"Yeah. I shouldn't have gone off at you like that."

"Damn right." Kitty put her hands on her hips. "I just wanted to remember something good about Jean. There might not be much, but it's all the epitaph she has and you didn't have to gloat."

"I wasn't gloating, I was just – angry. Remember when I told you that Jean showed me what our lives would have been like without her?"

"Yeah."

"I couldn't get it out of my mind. Seeing us hate each other like that tore me up inside. And I took it out on you. I went to see the Professor to see if she'd just made it up to screw with my head, but he said that Destiny really foresaw all that and what she showed me was true."

"I don't know why it has to matter so much to you," said Kitty. "It might have happened, but it didn't. Can't you just let it go, feel grateful that it didn't happen?"

"I tried, but…it was hard. I kept thinking that I owed what we had to some one trying to hurt us, from me trying to use you and maybe I didn't deserve to be happy from something that began that way. But today, we went to track down the Professors son and we lost him. The Prof's devastated that he didn't even get a first chance, let alone a second. And I don't want to be left regretting that I lost you because my feelings were hurt. I guess I'm asking you for a second chance."

Kitty looked at the floor. "I'm sorry too. I should have taken you more seriously when you said it was upsetting you."

"I'm going to think about it like you said, be thankful that I got a second chance. Uh, talking of second chances?"

Kitty went over and wrapped her arms around him. "You know I always forgive you in the end."

"I depend on it." Lance rested his head on hers briefly and wrinkled his nose. "Uh, I'll let you get on with your shower now Pretty-Kitty. You're a bit, uh, ripe. You need any help scrubbing your back?"

Kitty stepped away from him and punched him, feigning fury. "You tell me I smell then try to get me into bed?"

""Ow! No, just into the shower – OW!"

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Egypt.

The sky flashed, a bright light revealing the Eye of Ages above a pyramid. The sand blew in the breeze as the Eye opened and a beam emerged, striking the top of the pyramid and knocking away thousand-year-old brickwork. Beneath the historic tomb, a strange metal construction with a flat top. The Eye of Ages set down atop it. The panels on the side slid open, Apocalypse floating out, his hands ablaze with blue energy. The energy transformed into lightning, connecting together to form a sphere around the pyramid. The final bricks crumbled away, the pyramid entirely formed of metal within the confines of the third dome.


	14. The Evolution Begins

Thanks to:

Goofn1 – I love Lancitty! I couldn't split them up here, I already did that in my other fic! I'm planning plenty more Lance from now until the finale.

Kurttyscogue – I loved the idea of Kitty confronting Mystique and the whole Brotherhood getting sick, I just had to put it in! There's much more Scogue to come.

X00001 – Oh yeah, the Apocalypse is upon us…

LadyEvils – I was gonna put Rogue in Jean's place instead of Lance, but I thought that might be too obvious and I love the Lance/Scott interaction. I managed a faster update this time! And I'll try not to leave it so long again. Also, thanks for the praise of 'Unpredictable'

Mats Forsen – The Jean/Rogue face off will be coming – next chapter. Sorry! But I promise this chapter will be fun too.

DemonRogue13 – Thanks for the review!

XX-Goth-Gal – The girl chatting up Lucas sis look like a green haired Risty! It'd be interesting if Mystique had been there and not convalescing with the flu…

Rogue14 – Thinking up places for Kurt and Kitty to teleport to was lots of fun!

Disclaimer: The world's about to end! Who cares about disclaimers?

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"Third mysterious dome appears."

Mesmero folded the newspaper and chuckled to himself. His role in freeing Apocalypse meant that his future was secure. Forget the doubts that had been nagging at him since En Sabah Nur had completely ignored him since being freed…

The material of the tent began to tear, three metal claws slicing easily through the fabric and revealing Wolverine at the other side. Unhurriedly, he pulled one of Mesmero's posters from its place and examined it.

"I can read palms too bub, and your future ain't looking too good."

Mesmero ran as Logan advanced, fleeing the tent and trying to lose himself in the deserted carnival. Looking behind him he could see no sign of pursuit – until he ran headfirst into a telekinetic shield, falling over into the mud.

Rogue floated in the air before him. "Hello Mesmero."

Trying to move was futile. Mesmero glared at Rogue, a smirk on his face. "You're too late. Evolution is upon us and there's _nothing_ you can do to stop it!"

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"I scanned his mind," said the Professor, gesturing to the tied-up Mesmero sat in the centre of the room. "But from what I can tell, Apocalypse abandoned him."

"No!" Mesmero stood, fighting his bonds. "He _will_ be back for me!"

Logan shoved Mesmero back into the chair. Xavier wheeled closer, attempting to appeal to his good side, if he had one. "You were discarded Mesmero. You owe him no allegiance, so please tell me what he is planning. I can take the knowledge by force if you prefer."

Mesmero sighed and turned his head away. "Apocalypse will trigger the dormant X-genes in the normal human population so that most will transform into mutants."

Storm frowned. "What do you mean, _most_?"

"Many will not survive."

"How will this be accomplished?" asked the Beast urgently. "What does this have to do with the pyramids?"

"I – I have said too much. The wrath of Apocalypse is – "

"_He _is not you primary concern. Not at this moment." The Professor closed in on Mesmero and put his hands to the side of the prisoner's head, invading his mind.

A pyramid glowing blue, a second in a forest, a third in a desert, dark clouds rolling in the sky, people staring upward as lightning flashed, the sphinx, Apocalypse, pyramids, a glowing device…

Xavier snatched his hands away from Mesmero's head. "Yes, there's three pyramids. They're – they're powered by the Sphinx and Apocalypse…"

He turned to look at the other instructors, his face a mask of dread. "He is now ready."

Logan scowled. "So, what do we do about it?"

"If I could confront Apocalypse, reason with him, maybe he could be diverted from this path…"

"Charles, no!" said Storm. "I doubt that Apocalypse is interested in _our_ point of view."

"Opening a dialogue is the first step to a peaceful resolution."

"In this case, there ain't gonna be any peaceful resolution." Logan glared at Mesmero. "We have to find a way to stop him."

Beast shrugged. "Suggestions?"

There was a long silence.

Xavier sighed. "In this case, our only option is…"

An alarm began flashing, telling the group that they were about to have company. Logan went over to the computer and punched up a visual, growling as he saw the SHIELD helicopter landing in the grounds.

"I'll take care of this," he said, hurriedly exiting the room. When he got to the grounds, he saw several of the students gaping at scene and a familiar figure getting out of the copter.

"What's this about Fury?"

Nick Fury was unforthcoming as they headed back into the Institute. Logan didn't bother to hide his irritation with yet another unwanted intrusion by the Government official. "We're in the middle of dealing with something here."

"I figured." Fury waited for Logan to open the security door. "That's why I'm here. I need to keep you from attempting any action against the pyramids."

"Huh," snorted Logan as they walked toward the control room. "Fat chance."

"Logan, we're already taking measures and other mutants will only complicate matters."

Opening the door for the control room, Logan gave Fury a suspicious look. "What kind of measures?"

Fury shrugged and walked into the control room, taking in the scene. Beast was sat in front of the computer, Storm and Xavier watching the screen over his shoulder. Scott and Rogue were off to one side, talking quietly between themselves.

"Punch up a visual on the Sphinx."

Beast gave Fury a look that suggested that violence was defiantly an option. Logan held up a hand. "It's alright Hank."

Typing on the keyboard, Beast found the visual on the Sphinx. The mutants looked on in horror as the screen showed three Sentinels flying toward the landmark. Logan grabbed Fury by the front of his jacket, popping his claws.

"You resurrected the Sentinel Programme? You just made a _bigger_ mess of this!"

Fury looked away, shamefaced. "It was not my choice to make. But their mutant sensors will target Apocalypse, so they just happen to be our best defence at the moment."

Disgusted, Logan shoved Fury away and retracted his claws, reverting his attention back to the screen. The Sentinels had locked in on the Sphinx and opened fire, doing some damage that would have the Egyptian authorities screaming when they saw it. One shot left a smoking hole in the back of the landmark and the group stared as Apocalypse rose out of it.

**Mutant life signs confirmed.**

The voice of the Sentinel made them all shudder. It may be an electronic distortion of Bolivar Trask's voice, but it was a statement without compassion, without mercy. There could be no more reasoning with the Sentinel than there would be with Apocalypse.

The Sentinels flew over to Apocalypse, the mutant transforming his hand into a gun and blasting at the robots. The Sentinel dodged and returned fire, knocking Apocalypse into the side of the Sphinx. The watchers gasped, hoping that maybe this was the solution, the Sentinels could defeat Apocalypse – but dreading the possibility too. If the robots could defeat a mutant as powerful as Apocalypse, what hope did the rest of them have?

Apocalypse flew into the air, heading straight to one of the Sentinels and flying directly into its chest cavity. The robot shuddered, turning blue, before attacking its fellow Sentinels. The two machines were blown out of the sky.

Beast turned to Fury. "_That's_ your best defence?"

Fury allowed himself a slight smile. "Actually, they're our diversion."

Xavier frowned. "Meaning what?"

Glancing up as Lance, Kitty, Kurt and Piotr walked into the room, Fury returned his attention to the Professor. "Show the three domes."

Using a four-way screen view, the Beast did so. The dome in the lower-right corner showed three more Sentinels flying toward it.

"The new Sentinels have some modifications. Those flat cannons now release atomic sub-dividers so that the domes could no longer repel the attacks. We _should _actually be able to breech them and attack those pyramids."

The Beast watched as the Sentinels fired upon the domes, the stricken areas turning pink. "Brilliant."

Logan crossed his arms, looking sceptical. "Something tells me it ain't gonna be that easy."

The students crowded around the screen as there was more action in the top-left box, the screen showing the Sphinx. The blue Sentinel had defeated the others, turning back to red and then exploding, revealing Apocalypse floating in its place. The other screens showed more attacks on the domes by more Sentinels as Apocalypse cocked his head to one side and growled.

The hole in the ground beneath the Sphinx, the one that the X-Men had discovered when trying to locate Apocalypse, slid open. The watchers scowled as they tried to figure out what else could possibly go wrong.

"My horsemen. You are needed."

Four figures walked up the steps, all of them wearing the design of the Eye of Ages on their faces, all of them with their eyes glowing – all of them familiar.

Magneto.

Caliban.

Angel.

Jean.

There were gasps of disbelief from the mutants as they recognised the people that at one time they had known as friends or foes, three of whom they had thought of as dead.

Rogue covered her mouth, hardly feeling Scott's arms around her. No one else knew how hard it had been for her dealing with Jean's death. They had started out with a mutual dislike, followed by Rogue's crush and her devastation at discovering it had all been caused by the other girl. Then Jean had killed her foster mother and taken control of her body and then died before Rogue could get any answers as to why. And just as she was coming to terms with never knowing the reasons for Jean's actions, she came back from the dead.

In spite of the symbols on her face, Jean looked the same as she always had. Red hair flowing away from her face, the sardonic smirk playing on her lips, the leather uniform she had always favoured both as a member of the Brotherhood and of the Acolytes. Only her eyes were changed, glowing with blue light.

Angel stood beside her, more changed than the girl who had led her to his apparent demise. His skin was tinged blue, his once-handsome features almost unrecognisable. The wings that had given him his codename were no longer feathered, instead appearing to be made of metal.

Caliban seemed to have gained mass, his arms hanging almost to his knees, muscles standing out starkly. His skin was still pale but his eyes glowed with inhuman energy, his mouth oversized and smiling.

Magneto still wore the robes and helmet, the symbols of the Eye of Ages standing out on his face, glowing with the same eerie blue light as his eyes. The set of his face was determined. In spite of all his bluster about defeating Apocalypse he seemed totally subservient to the mutant.

Logan gaped at the screen. "They're – alive?"

"What's he done to them?" asked Lance, pulling Kitty closer as if she was in danger of contamination from the screen.

"I don't believe it." Scott glanced down at Rogue, who was just staring at the picture.

Apocalypse addressed the four. "Horsemen, defend my pyramids."

Three spectral horses appeared from the base of the Sphinx. Magneto, Caliban and Jean leapt onto them and soared into the sky, Angel using his wings to take to the air. Angel flew into a portal, followed by Caliban and Magneto. Jean circled around before the horse went back inside into the Sphinx, followed by Apocalypse.

At the Institute the Beast tapped on the keyboard, bringing the Egyptian pyramid to a full-screen view. A Sentinel blasting at the dome turned as a portal appeared in the sky behind it, Angel flying through it and hovering in the air behind the robot.

**Mutant life signs confirmed.**

As the Sentinel raised an arm to fire, Angel dodged out of its way. His wings aimed toward it, scores of razor-tipped projectiles emerging from the new metal. The robots arm fell away from its body. Another flurry of missiles sliced the machines head clean off its shoulders.

"Hank, try the Chinese dome," said Xavier urgently.

The Beast tapped on the keyboard, replacing Angel's fight with the scene in the devastated Chinese province. Another portal had appeared in the sky, this one ejecting Caliban upon the spectral steed. The horse vanished and Caliban landed on a Sentinels shoulder, grabbing at the metal and denting it with his bare hands before ripping a chunk of the robots head away and swinging it in a downward arc, the Sentinels electronics fizzing and emitting a shower of sparks as vital wiring was damaged beyond repair.

"Mexico?" The Professors voice shook slightly.

The scene at the dome in Mexico showed Magneto floating in mid-air, a simple gesture causing the three Sentinels to crash into each other, chunks of metal falling to the floor and the robots tossed indifferently aside, one hitting a cliff and exploding into fragments.

The Beast returned the screen to its four-way view, all of them bleak as they watched the carnage continue. Fury turned to Wolverine. "If they fail Logan, I'm outta options. Except for maybe one. You guys."

"I'm way ahead of you." Logan walked over to the screen and weighed up the situation. "Now order us some helijets."

Xavier nodded. "We need four teams, one at each of the pyramids and one at the Sphinx. We absolutely _must_ gain control of those locations."

Logan turned away from the screen and glanced at the students. "Avalanche, Shadowcat, start with the Brotherhood."

"We're on it." Lance and Kitty hurried away.

"Nightcrawler, you go find Spyke."

Kurt teleported away without a word.

"Cyclops, Colossus, you round up anyone else you can think of. And Rogue, you come with me. I've got a special assignment for you."

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"Forget it!"

Lance glared at Pietro irritably. "Come on, at least _ask_ the others."

Pietro turned around. "Hey! You guys wanna go to Mexico to fight Magneto?"

There was no reply from within the house.

"Forget it." Pietro tried to slam the door, but Kitty put her foot in the way.

"Are you serious? After everything we just told you?"

"Look, if Magneto couldn't stop this guy what chance do we have?"

"Well none if we don't try!"

"Sorry guys. Just let Magneto turn the world into mutants. Maybe he's on to something – "

"WHAT is going on here?"

Mystique appeared behind Pietro and smirked. "If it isn't our two errant team-mates. I see you decided against the pyjamas for this visit."

"It's a long story," said Kitty as she saw the looks that Lance and Pietro gave her.

"Look Mystique," said Lance. "Apocalypse wants to turn all humans into mutants and he's gonna do it soon. We're trying to stop him by taking control of the pyramids, but we could use all the help we can get."

"You've come here asking for _my_ help?" Mystique smirked.

"Jean's back."

That at least caught the woman's attention. "How? She's dead."

"No she isn't," said Kitty. "Apocalypse has control of her mind and she's fighting beside him."

"So's Magneto," added Pietro.

Mystique thought about it. She did owe Jean a serious beating and she'd love to get even with Apocalypse for turning her into stone. With both the Brotherhood and the X-Men backing her up, she might stand a better chance.

"Quicksilver, get the others ready to go. NOW!"

Pietro zipped off, not questioning the orders out loud. Mystique returned her attention to Lance and Kitty. "Tell me what's going on from the beginning."

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"You found Caliban?"

Evan looked up at Kurt hopefully and the German boy was again struck by how different Spyke seemed compared to when he'd lived at the mansion, there seemed to be none of the sense of mischief that had been a part of him left. Looking like a mutant had made Evan bitter.

_Welcome to my world._

"You know about the domes?"

"I've heard some rumours from topside."

"Apocalypse wants to turn humans into mutants. He's brainwashed Caliban into helping him. We're going to try to stop them, but we need help. You up to it?"

"Yeah." Evan stood up and made as if to leave.

"We're coming with you."

Evan looked over his shoulder to see Callisto and Scaleface behind him. "No. You guys stay here."

"You stand up for us, we do the same for you. Remember?" Callisto gave him a smile. "Caliban's one of us. We need to help him."

"Some one has to stay behind with Torpid."

"It's just us three," replied Callisto. "Let's go get our friend."

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"I do not think we need you."

"Course you do mate!" Pyro flung his arms out. "You need me to talk sense into me old girlfriend!"

"I do not feel you would help." Piotr glared at Pyro.

"You need some one that'd help Jean remember who she used to be? That's me!" Pyro let loose a flame heart that encircled Colossus. "You need me and you know it!"

"If you want to help then no more fire!" Piotr dodged another flame that dissipated into a bunch of flowers. "Come with us and fight her!"

"Fight Jean?" Pyro looked doubtful.

"She is not herself," said Piotr. "And if you free her, I think she would be grateful…"

"Then that's settled," said Pyro. "Let's go!"

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"You want Gambit's help?" Remy leant back in his chair and smirked at Cyclops. "I t'ought Magneto was the best chance of stopping him and he got himself wasted."

"But now Magneto's back and we have to stop Apocalypse." Scott glared at the Cajun. "We could use your help, but if you're not interested…"

"Never said that." Gambit stared into space. "We got one bad mutant out there and he needs to be stopped, _oui_?"

Scott nodded.

"And Rogue's gonna be there?"

"Yes," replied Scott through gritted teeth, already mentally reshuffling the teams so that Gambit and Rogue wouldn't be working together."

"What the hell. Gambit got no other plans. Let's go!"

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The helijets took the teams to their destinations.

The first plane to arrive landed in Mexico to confront Magneto. It's occupants: Avalanche. Shadowcat. The Scarlet Witch. Quicksilver. Blob. Toad. Boom-Boom.

The second landed in China to confront Caliban. It's occupants: Beast. Berserker. Spyke. Callisto. Scaleface. Iceman. X-23.

The third landed in Egypt to confront Angel. It's occupants: Storm. Colossus. Multiple. Magma. Sunspot. Havok. Gambit.

The fourth landed at the Sphinx. It's occupants: Wolverine. Professor Xavier. Cyclops. Nightcrawler. Mystique.

"Listen everyone." The Beast spoke into his headset. "Our opponents have had their powers greatly enhanced. So make no mistake. We are in for the fight of our lives."

"OK teams, this is it." Logan's voice came over the headsets. "Everything you've ever learned about yourselves. Your strengths and your limits. It all comes down to this very moment. Tonight we're the worlds last, best hope to stop this madman. So we're gonna trash those pyramids whatever way we can. No matter who we've gotta go through to do it."


	15. Ascending

Thanks to:

x-BeypokeDigifan – Remy's in Egypt to fight Angel and Rogue and Jean will certainly come face-to-face in this chapter!

LadyEvils – I never understood why Evan went but not the other Morlocks, although to tell the truth I'm not very familiar with most of them, so I just opted for Callisto and Scaleface (because she has a cool name, lol). Pyro will be looking out for his lady.

Rogue14 – The big fight took forever to write and has plenty of Remy (I've never really used him much in my fics, but I found him surprisingly fun to write here). And I loved the last chapter of your fic!

X00001 – Uh, X23 wasn't in the other chapters because it wouldn't have changed much from the episode so it just kinda, uh, happened in the background. Wow, did I cover that gaping plot hole poorly or what? I just like writing X23 going all crazy, she's a lot of fun!

DemonRogue13 – Hope you enjoy this chapter, the longest I've ever written!

XX-Goth-Gal – I'm so glad I could make you visualise the scenes, I always think the best writing is when you forget you're reading. I actually put in Scaleface because I liked the name and is one of the few Morlocks I have some background info on (although not much). Hope this chapter can get you drooling too!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters contained herein.

Author Note: This is the penultimate chapter and the longest I've ever written. My advice is to get yourself a coffee/ cigarette/ chocolate muffin or whatever because you'll be here a while! I should have the epilogue up in three days or so and the next chapter of my Jeance fic up shortly (sorry to everyone waiting for it, it took so long to get this chapter completed!). Give me feedback, let me know what you thought!

And happy bonfire night people! Pyro's favourite holiday, with all its explosions and legalised arson, is also mine. I have fireworks, matches and a deranged smile. I'm set!

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Egypt.

Storm flew up into the air, the sky darkening as she faced off with Angel. She summoned a bolt of lightening but before she could hit him, Angel shot a bunch of darts at her. Storm dodged to one side, the needlepoints getting close enough to tear her cape.

Gambit stepped forward and with a casual flick of his wrist sent several glowing cards at Angel. Using his metallic wings as a shield, Angel stopped the attack and aimed more darts at the group on the ground. Most of them ducked, six Multiple clones who were too slow disintegrating as they were hit.

Gathering her senses, Storm hurled a lightning bolt at the horseman. Again Angel used his wings to protect himself. Storm had expected that the metal they were now made of to conduct the electricity through his body and ground him but whatever the alloy was, it absorbed the lightning bolts with no ill effect. Storm summoned a shower of hail localised above Angel's head, hoping it would force him to seek shelter. Instead, he flew directly at her with a snarl on his face. Too slow to move out of the way of the sudden attack, Storm had the wind knocked from her lungs and was carried several feet toward the ground until Angel stopped dead. She continued to fall, Colossus lumbering noisily forward and catching her.

Both Havok and Magma began to focus their powers on their adversary, Havok blasting energy beams and Magma aiming bolts of lava. Angel dodged the attacks with ease, using his wings to ward off the shots that got to close. Another rain of darts from his wings forced them to cease and take cover.

Roberto pulled at a dart that had become lodged into the ground, prising it loose. Even his enhanced strength in his Sunspot form wasn't enough to bend the metal and he guessed that at the velocity they were fired at, they could do some serious damage.

"Don't let these things hit you! Try to stay out of their way!"

"What you t'ink we been doing?" Gambit sounded sarcastic as he rolled out of the way of another barrage.

Getting her breath back, Storm rose into the air to see if there was any other way they could ground the horseman. Before summoning a blinding shower of rain, she offered a prayer to the Bright Lady that the other teams were having more luck than they were.

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China.

"Caliban, _please_! Let us help you!"

Spyke shouted to his former friend, hands held out in a futile gesture of peace.

"Watch it!" Beast tackled Spyke, knocking him out of the way as a large chunk of Sentinel thrown by Caliban almost took the boys head off.

With a shout, X-23 ran at Caliban, claws extended. She ducked a massive fist and scratched the twin claws down the horseman's back, creating shallow cuts in his pale skin.

"Don't hurt him!" Evan struggled to his feet and began running to where the two were fighting. "He's a victim in this, just like we are."

Readying herself to make a killing blow, X-23 paused for a moment too long. Caliban punched her in the stomach, lifting her into the air and knocking her almost twenty feet away from him. She lay stunned, the others hoping that her healing factor was enough to deal with the probable internal injuries that such a blow would cause.

Callisto crouched for a moment next to the fallen girl, then looked up at Spyke. "When I first went into the sewers, it was just Caliban and me. He found the Morlocks and I offered them sanctuary. It was his idea to act against the Pow-R-8 factory and if he were himself, he'd want us to do whatever we had to. Evan, take him down."

Spyke nodded, releasing two four-foot bones from his arm and throwing them at Caliban. They burst into flame as they hurled toward the horseman – but Caliban caught them in mid-air, the spikes disintegrating into powder where he held them, the flaming sections falling to the floor at his feet.

Scaleface, still in human form, glanced over at the others. "Anyone else think we're screwed?"

With an inarticulate roar, Caliban rushed at them.

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"Father! Why are you doing this?"

Boom-Boom shook her head as she watched the Scarlet Witch attempt to reason with Magneto. "It's official. Witchy finally lost her mind."

From the piles of ruined Sentinels, there was movement. Chunks of metal rose into the air, floating over to Wanda and crashing down with lethal force. A second before she could be crushed, Quicksilver dashed over and scooped her up, carrying her out of harms way.

"That's not our father," he said grimly, setting her back on her feet. "At least not anymore."

The metal that had been intended for Wanda stirred, rising into the air, forming a torso, limbs. A head, still mostly intact, topped off the makeshift robot. The eyes lit up and it seemed to look down at the group of teens come to stop it.

Shadowcat backed away with a gasp, reaching blindly for Lance's hand.

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The Sphinx.

The stairs leading down into the chamber where the X-men had first learned the origin of Apocalypse were still open. The team started down it, Nightcrawler waiting until the others were at the bottom before teleporting himself and the Professor into the chamber.

The room was silent, fallen rocks still littered around from their fight against the statues that had come to life even as they were sealed from the outside world. The Professor glanced around. "Do you sense her?"

"No," replied Wolverine. "Apocalypse has amplified her powers so she could be right next to us and I wouldn't know it."

The silence prevailed for a few more moments as they cautiously went further. Then there was a noise, a rumble, the ground shaking minutely.

"Feel that?" Nightcrawler glanced around, but saw nothing. "Something big just powered up in this place."

The six of them stopped, waiting to see what happened next. Pyro used a flamethrower to create a light so that they could see better…

…And the fire took shape against his will, forming a large bird that almost seemed to look at them. As Pyro turned off the flamethrower and tried to manipulate the flames, Jean flew out through the centre of the bird and headed straight for them.

The Professor's wheelchair went straight backward, hitting the wall and spilling him out. A fallen rock rose apparently of its own volition and knocked Pyro flying straight back into Wolverine, both of them landing in a heap of arms and legs. Cyclops was picked up and thrown at Nightcrawler, the elf teleporting before the team leader could hit him.

Mystique transformed into an eagle and flew at the redhead with a shriek, talons aiming for her eyes, only to be repelled by a telekinetic shield. Nightcrawler popped up behind Jean, reaching out to grab her and teleport, hoping several ports one after the other would disorient her, but before he could touch her he was seized by invisible hands and flung at Cyclops, who was just getting back to his feet. Once again the team leader was knocked off balance and fell to the floor.

Deeper within the Sphinx, Apocalypse heard the noises and frowned. The noise was irritating but not enough to distract him, not after all the millennia he had been imprisoned before he could carry out his plans. A wave of his hand created a hologram of the three pyramids and he forgot the fight outside as he returned his attention to the matter at hand.

Nothing could stop him now.

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Mexico.

The Sentinel punched a giant fist downward, Blob catching it and holding off the robot before it could hit the twins. Shadowcat released Lance's hand and followed them as they hurried out of the way, grabbing Wanda by the shoulders when they stopped.

"Wanda, you have to forget he's your father or we're going to lose this – and we _can't_ lose!"

A well-aimed piece of metal hit Kitty in the back and knocked her flying.

"Kitty!" Avalanche ran over to her, barely noticing the Scarlet Witch back away. Realising that Kitty was out for the count, he turned and started an earth tremor that had no effect on the floating Magneto but knocked the Sentinel off-balance. Narrowing her eyes, Wanda aimed a hex bolt at Magneto whilst he was distracted keeping the robot upright. His powers negated briefly, Magneto was unable to stop the Sentinel from falling apart, the shower of metal causing the rest of the Brotherhood to scatter. But with his powers enhanced by Apocalypse, Magneto quickly shook off the effects of the hex bolt.

Sitting up groggily, Shadowcat rubbed her head and glanced over to the battle. She barely noticed Boom-Boom creating a bomb the size of a beach ball and giving it to Blob to hurl at their adversary. The pyramid had captured her attention. Its peak had begun to glow blue.

"Oh no…what's happening?"

The bomb Blob threw knocked Magneto into the side of the pyramid, alerting the rest of the team to the new development. Instead of capitalising on their sudden advantage, they stared as the top of the pyramid rose into the air, rapidly getting out of their sight.

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China.

Caliban glanced away from his adversaries as the top of the pyramid he was protecting flew straight up into the air.

Spyke watched it nervously. "Where's it going?"

"My guess is, he needs the pyramids in the higher atmosphere in order to affect the entire planet." Beast looked around at the others, trying desperately to come up with an alternative plan.

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Egypt.

"_Dis_ can't be good," commented Gambit as the top of the pyramid rose into the air.

"No," whispered Storm as she watched it until it was out of sight. "No!"

Magma's shoulders sagged. "We're too late."

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A SHIELD facility.

"Sir? As ordered, our last three Sentinels are pursuing the pyramids."

Fury nodded, following the soldier deeper into the facility through the security doors. The computer screens showed the Sentinels attacking the pyramids. As he'd feared, the pyramids had force fields and the blasts didn't seem to be affecting them. Maybe the robots would break through Apocalypses defences and maybe not. But there was still hope, as long as Logan's plan worked.

Nick Fury wasn't convinced that it would.

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China.

"Listen, it's not over." Beast spoke urgently into his headset, taking cover as Caliban hurled a boulder at the team, missing as they dived out of the way but a largish chunk broke off as it landed and caught Scaleface on the back of the head. ""Those pyramids in the sky are probably orbital relays."

He winced as Callisto half-carried X-23 over. The clone was still injured from her previous attempt at an attack, but was conscious long before she had any right to be and not looking too healthy. Iceman followed them, creating a shield between them and the horseman and allowing Beast to get his message to the other teams.

"Just destroy the base units that power them."

"Understood," replied Storm from Egypt.

"Got it," added Avalanche in Mexico.

Beast was relieved to have gotten his message through, but was more thankful to have heard from his teammates and know they were still alive.

Berserker and Spyke were attempting a joint attack when he looked out from behind the shield, Berserker blasting bolts of electricity at Caliban and Evan trying to distract him with flaming spikes. Caliban caught a spike out of mid-air, grinning cruelly at his former friend but not noticing Ray unleash his powers. The electricity flowed through the horseman's body, causing him to arch his back and cry out in pain. Alarmed, Berserker immediately stopped firing and took a few steps forward, unthinkingly going to see how badly the Morlock was hurt.

Immediately shaking off the effects of the electricity, Caliban turned to Berserker and hurled the spike he was still holding at the boy. He stopped dead, a look of surprise on his face as he crumpled, the spike going with him.

Bobby ran toward his fallen friend, losing his ice form in his panic. _"RAY!!"_

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Mexico.

"Quicksilver, keep Magneto occupied," ordered Avalanche. "The rest of us need to take down the base unit!"

Nodding, Quicksilver took off and created a whirlwind around his father, Magneto caught in its updraft. Rolling his eyes back in his head, Avalanche hit the pyramid with an earth tremor while Blob circled away from the trembling ground to take a run-up to the structure. Shadowcat and Boom-Boom phased through the floor, rising closer to the pyramid so that Tabby could strike with a series of bombs.

Toad was the only one to notice the trouble they were in.

The Sentinels head rolled toward the spinning Magneto, getting into Quicksilver's path before he could alter his course. With a cry of alarm, Pietro skidded to a halt, releasing Magneto. A moment later, the horseman buried his son beneath the torn remains of another robot.

"Look out!" Toad yelled the warning to the others, who didn't hear him. The base unit was beginning to crumble and they all thought it was about to fall…

Not seeing the chunk of metal spinning her way, Shadowcat didn't phase and was hit across the back of the head, hitting the dirt and sliding. Boom-Boom barely had time to look around when the same piece hit her in the arm, dislocating her shoulder and knocking her down. Avalanche ran over to check on them, ceasing his attack on the base unit. He was too distracted to notice the lump of metal shooting along the floor and was tripped before he could reach the girls. Quickly he rolled onto his back to get up, but was submerged beneath a pile of robot parts before he could get to his feet.

Blob lumbered over to where Quicksilver had been buried, pulling the chunks of metal off the boy. As he lifted a particularly large piece, it twisted and elongated in his hands, wrapping around his body so he couldn't move. Trying to walk only made him fall. Using his considerable strength he began forcing the metal apart, but knew at once it was going to take too long to free himself.

Toad glanced over at the Scarlet Witch who was using her powers to lift the rubble off her brother, not seeing the wickedly sharp spear raise itself off the floor and fly directly at her.

"_Wanda_!"

He was between her and the weapon in two leaps, shooting out his tongue and catching it inches before it could hit the girl. She turned and gasped, realising how close she had just come to dying – then the spear, still being controlled by Magneto, yanked Toad forward at high velocity. His head connected with a tree and he went limp.

"_Todd_!"

Wanda ran over to her teammate, kneeling beside him and checking for a pulse, forgetting all about her father. The metal that had propelled Toad into the tree rose again, twisting itself around her neck and lifting her off the ground. Choking, Wanda tried to force her fingers into the noose, not realising that the other end was coiling around a sturdy tree branch. As her vision grew dark, she began to panic.

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Egypt.

Storm and Gambit worked together to distract Angel, Storm using her control of the weather to hit him with wind, rain and lightening while Gambit kept him from retaliating by throwing charged cards. For a while it worked. Angel was able to protect himself but couldn't return the attack before having to protect himself again.

Colossus and Havok hit the base unit with everything they had, energy bolts and brute strength rocking the structure.

Angel saw the bolt of lightning emerging from the clouds and dodged rather than blocking. Gambit had become overconfident and was directly in its path, the shock coursing through his body and knocking him unconscious.

Multiple and several clones ran over to check on the Cajun. Storm ceased her attack momentarily, horrified at hurting her own teammate. Too late, she turned her attention back to Angel, who had gotten close enough to hit her with his wing. The metal broke her cheekbone and rendered her unconscious. She was saved from further injury by the six clones she landed on.

Angel turned his attention to the base unit, shooting darts at the pair attacking the pyramid. Colossus was saved by his metal form, but Havok wasn't so lucky, four of the darts penetrating his back. He collapsed to his knees, crying out. Colossus turned in time to see Angel flying straight at him, lifting him off his feet and carrying him into the air. They were almost fifty feet up before Piotr's sheer weight caused Angel to drop him.

Colossus had time to realise that there was no way to break his fall before he hit the ground and the world went black.

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The Sphinx.

The Professor engaged Jean on a telepathic level in an attempt to stop her using her mind to kill them all with a thought. It was a struggle. Her mind was powerful enough even without Apocalypse's enhancements. With them, he was engaged in the fight of his life.

Before the stunned eyes of the rest of the team, the Professor's astral form rose from his body, seemingly as insubstantial as smoke. Jean hovered in mid-air, her own astral form surrounded with green fire shaped like a bird.

Mystique gazed at the apparition. "The Phoenix…"

"_What _did you say?" Logan glared at her.

"Nothing." Mystique wasn't about to admit what she'd seen in the diaries that were Irene's legacy to her.

Astral Jean blasted at the Professor, the more experienced telepath blocking the shot and retaliating with one of his own that sent the girl's form tumbling. She steadied herself, the green flames that formed the Phoenix around her seemingly detaching themselves and attacking Xavier. He imagined himself a shield, blocking the bird. With a sneer, Jean's arms became scythes and she swung them at the Professor, forcing him to block her again. Neither of their bodies moved an inch in spite of the fierce battle their astral forms were waging.

Mystique smirked, reaching into the gun belt she wore for this mission and removing a small but high-powered handgun. She took a few steps backward so she was out of the line of sight of the rest of the team. She doubted that they would approve of her plan.

_But if Jean's body's out of the way, her mind can't survive, we can get to Apocalypse – and I'll have my revenge for what she did to Destiny…_

She raised the gun and fired several shots at the redhead.

The astral body of Jean gestured casually and the bullets turned ninety degrees, hitting the ceiling and sending down a shower of dust. At the same time Pyro blasted a flame at Mystique. She dropped the gun and threw herself backwards, somersaulting away from the fire. The bullets still in the chamber overheated in the path of Pyro's rage and exploded, blasting hot shrapnel through the chamber. Nightcrawler grabbed Cyclops's arm and teleported them away from the immediate danger. Wolverine raised an arm to protect his face but didn't bother to move, trusting the healing factor to take care of the worst of the damage.

Xavier didn't even notice the disturbance. He used Jean's momentary distraction to hit her with the staff he had imagined for herself. Her astral form flickered momentarily and she glared at the Professor, the scythes morphing back into arms and the Phoenix rising behind her once again, growing more luminous before bursting into light so intense that the onlookers were forced to turn away. The Professor's astral form fell backwards, seemingly sucked back into Xavier's body. The man in the wheelchair slumped, defeated.

Pyro glanced around nervously as Jean's astral form re-entered her body and she turned her head to glare at them. "What's our plan now?"

"Run!" Cyclops took off down the corridor toward where Apocalypse hid, followed by Nightcrawler, Mystique and Wolverine. Pyro ran after them, looking over his shoulder as he sprayed the area behind them with fire, knowing even as he did it that it wouldn't be enough to keep Jean from following them.

Ahead of them, a heavy stone door lay open and they ran through it, Pyro the last one in. Wolverine, Cyclops and Mystique put their shoulders against the doors to force them closed. They were almost there when Jean flew down the corridor after them, the lack of expression on her face only serving to make her more intimidating. The doors stuck, then slowly began to swing back open.

Cyclops got Jean in his sights and let loose a powerful optic blast that knocked the girl into a wall, loosing her telekinetic grip on the doors.

Turning to Logan, Cyclops said, "Wolverine, the Professor – "

"She won't bother him as long as _we're_ the threat," replied Logan, hoping he spoke the truth. "We have to leave him. We can't do anything for him now."

The group managed to force the doors closed, realising it couldn't keep her out for long.

Pyro grabbed Mystique by her upper arms, throwing her against the wall. "You crazy _bitch_! You could have _killed_ her!"

"And if I had, we wouldn't have the problem we do now." Mystique wrenched herself out of the mans grip. "Touch me again and I'll kill _you_."

"We have to stop Apocalypse or we _all_ die!" Cyclops put himself between the two. "And we're running out of time!"

Wolverine sniffed, but could get no scent from the door at the other end of the room. "Nightcrawler, scout the other side!"

"Be right back." Nightcrawler bounded across the room and jumped at the second set of doors, teleporting before he hit. The other four gathered at the place where he'd vanished.

Seconds ticked by with no sign of the elf's return. Logan growled impatiently. "Come on, where are ya?"

"He's being too long," said Mystique, a note of worry in her voice.

Wolverine refrained from commenting about her sudden maternal concern. "Cyclops, blow the doors!"

The first set of doors blew open and Jean floated in, hair flying around her face and her eyes glowing an eerie blue. A fallen pillar lifted from the ground and flew sideways, pinning both Pyro and Cyclops to the floor beneath its weight. Mystique ran at Jean, leaping up to deliver a martial arts kick at her head. The shapeshifters forward momentum suddenly stopped and she stayed suspended in the air for a moment before being flung back into a wall.

_Snikt!_

Wolverine popped his claws and approached cautiously, knowing that the girl could use her powers to break his mind or smash every bone in his body. But one thing about Jean that hadn't changed since she became a minion of Apocalypse was her love of toying with her opponent. When he lunged at her, she used her force field to deflect the blows, letting Logan attack her but not allowing him to do any damage. His strikes became more desperate, fiercer as his worry about killing the girl receded, but all to no avail. And he could feel himself losing control, the rage that he kept at bay through sheer force of will beginning to take over.

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A quiet alarm sounded in Apocalypse's chamber as on the hologram of the planet, one of the grids that showed the range of the Eye of Ages vanished. Realising that this meant the Sentinels had actually breeched the Pyramids and may soon do the same to the others, Apocalypse decided to call for backup.

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Mexico.

Magneto watched expressionlessly as his daughter fought for air, choking on the metal noose that held her above the ground. He rose his hand to gesture for the noose to tighten still further, to cut into Wanda's larynx and kill her quickly…

The face of Apocalypse appeared in the sky above the base unit.

"Magneto."

He spoke no other words, but Magneto knew what had to be done. He flew into the air, leaving those who attacked the pyramids behind, unguarded.

The outer edges of Wanda's sight were dark and spots danced before her eyes. Her lungs heaved uselessly for air and her fingers scrabbled uselessly around the metal that choked her. Panic finally getting the better of her, the Scarlet Witch lost control of her powers, her fingers emitting the blue light that characterised her hex bolts, aging the metal in a second. The makeshift noose crumbled and Wanda spilled to the floor, gasping noisily and putting a hand to her bruised throat. For a moment, she struggled to regain her bearings, then looked around and realised that Magneto was gone.

Beside where she had landed, Toad was still motionless. She put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Todd? The base unit…"

The boy was still, made no sound, his skin deathly pale. Blood oozed from the gash on his head and dripped down his face like red tears.

"Todd? Todd? Please be OK, please…"

She struggled to her feet, knowing that Magneto could be back at any moment and if the base unit was still intact, everything they'd done would be for nothing.

Blob was still trying to fight his way out of the metal bonds that held him captive. The Scarlet Witch touched them, aging the metal as she had done to the noose, letting the boy free.

"This is our chance," she told him flatly. "The base unit's unprotected. We can destroy it."

Fred glanced around at the destruction around him, Kitty and Tabby unconscious on the ground, Lance and Pietro buried beneath mounds of metal, Todd crumpled at the base of a tree. "Let's take it down."

A blue beam was emitting from the top of the pyramid. Wanda blasted it with hex bolts while Blob smashed the side of the unit, knocking a giant hole in the side and redoubling his efforts when he realised he was damaging it.

Wanda could feel her power ebbing, still too weak from her close call to do much damage. For a moment it seemed as if the beam was weakening – then her power failed her and the beam came back as strong as ever.

Magneto floated in front of her.

Wanda fell backward, her dizziness overwhelming her. Behind Magneto, she could see Blob leaving off his attack and coming to help her, but with a gesture Magneto raised a pile of metal and the head of a downed Sentinel and dropped them on his head. It might not stop the Blob for long, but long enough for him to dispose of her.

"Father…" she whispered, raising her arms in a futile attempt to protect herself from the chunk of metal that hovered above her, blocking out the sun, knowing it would be the last thing she ever saw. "Please, no…"

A curt gesture sent the chunk of metal down on her with deadly force. Wanda closed her eyes, the wind from the projectile blowing against her face…

_I'm still alive?_

She opened her eyes and saw her saviour. "Pietro!"

"Hey sis. You look like you could use a hand."

Wanda took in his messy hair, his scratched and dirty face, and his uniform torn in at least a dozen places. "You look like shit."

"Thanks, that's the last time I rescue you!"

Magneto floated over some Sentinel parts and landed near the twins, advancing on them.

"Wanda, can you stop him?"

"I can't, I tried."

Behind Magneto, Avalanche crawled out from beneath the rubble he had been buried beneath, using the heel of his hand to wipe blood out of his eyes. Seeing Magneto, he got to his knees and pounded his fists against the ground, opening a fissure that ran over to the horseman, the tremors knocking him off balance. A tree swayed on the brink of the crack, dangerously near to Magneto but not falling.

Just as it seemed that Magneto would suffer no ill effects from the earthquake, a bomb hit the base of the tree and blasted it from its precarious grip on the ground. It hit Magneto and the man was obscured beneath it.

"Boom-Boom?" Wanda looked over to where Tabby was, obviously still in some pain and her shoulder appearing to be four inches below where it should be, but upright and ready to fight.

Blob freed himself and made his way over to the others, pausing on the way to help Avalanche to his feet.

"Where's Kitty?"

"I'm here." Kitty limped over to Lance and he put an arm around her.

Blob frowned. "So where's Toad?"

"I…" Wanda looked at the ground. "He's hurt. Badly."

Quicksilver zipped over to the boy and the others followed as fast as they were able. Kitty knelt beside him and put a hand to the side of his neck. "I've got a pulse!"

"But there's so much blood," said Wanda shakily.

Toad groaned and opened his eyes. "Did we win?"

"Yeah, right," said Pietro. "Don't you _ever_ learn?"

Wanda elbowed him in the ribs, making him wince in pain. "Shhhh!"

"Oh yeah," said Toad, closing his eyes again. "We never win."

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The Sentinel may have destroyed the pyramids, but they would be of no further problem now that Magneto had dealt with them. And what the mutants hadn't realised was that he could restore power to the pyramids while the base units remained.

Apocalypse lay within the Eye of Ages, using his own powers to ensure the destiny of the human race continued as he had planned.

"And the evolution begins."

In New York, people glanced up at the sky as a violent storm appeared out of nowhere.

Lightening flashed over London, putting Big Ben into silhouette and temporarily blinding those unlucky enough to be nearby.

The winds in Hawaii built to gale force, although there had been no indication of such a tempest about to occur.

In Tokyo a previously fine day grew overcast and unnaturally dark, rain pelting the unsuspecting pedestrians.

An unseasonable snowstorm took the people of Toronto by surprise, the city rapidly turning white.

Sleet pelted the locals in Kenya, the roads becoming impassable in minutes.

Meteorologists the world over suddenly found that all their equipment was going wild, the earths atmosphere fluctuating wildly and without reason, the weather a symptom but the cause unknown.

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China.

Iceman blasted Caliban, encasing him in ice and freezing him solid. Beast took the opportunity to bound over to Berserker and check on the boy. Ray was pale and still, the spike sticking out of his side. Beast snapped off as much of the weapon as he dared without pulling it out of the wound, knowing that to do so would only cause more blood loss.

"He's still alive," said Callisto beside him. "But his heartbeat's erratic."

"How do you know?" asked Bobby.

"I can hear it."

"We need to get him to safety," said the Beast sharply.

"You do it, you'll be the fastest," said Callisto. "We'll get to the base units."

"I'll be right back." Beast picked Ray up carefully and hurried away to where they'd left the helijet.

"Spyke, you go see what you can do to the base unit, you too Scaleface. Iceman, see if X23's recovered yet." Callisto wanted to keep an eye on Caliban and make sure that when he broke free she could attack him and give the others time to destroy the base unit, but although the others followed her orders on the run, Spyke stayed behind.

"Evan, go! This is our chance!"

"I…" Evan glanced over his shoulder in the direction that the Beast had gone. "It was my fault that Caliban was able to hurt Ray. If it wasn't for my spike…"

"Evan, this is no time to feel guilty!" Callisto turned and glared at him. "If you can't get on with the job then you're no good to us, just go back to the helijet and keep an eye on Berserker. Otherwise, _get over there and start fighting_!"

Nodding, Evan ran over to the base unit and let loose a barrage of flaming spikes. The Morlock leader was right. Later he could seek absolution. Now was the time for action.

The ice around Caliban cracked, then exploded outward. Free, the horseman leapt straight for Scaleface and wrapped his arms around her reptilian neck, cutting off her air supply and stopping her attack on the base unit. He picked her up as if she weighed no more than a pillow and threw her into Spyke, both of them crashing into a boulder. With a cry Callisto leapt at her former friend but Caliban was ready for her, absorbing the kick she delivered and grabbing her arm as she landed, snapping the bones easily. As she cried out, he shoved her backward and delivered a blow to her chest that fractured a collarbone and slammed her to the ground.

Bobby iced up as he ran toward the action, trying to once again encase the horseman in ice. Caliban leapt to one side and rolled, jumping back to his feet near to where Spyke and Scaleface were trying to scramble up. Grabbing Scaleface by the neck, he picked her up and threw her at Iceman, knocking him over too. As Evan got back to his feet, Caliban plucked a spike from the boy's body and used it to club him beneath the chin, one place that wasn't protected by bony plates, lifting him from the ground with the force of the blow and sending him flying.

Still wielding the spike, Caliban walked over to where Iceman was trying to crawl from beneath the now unconscious Scaleface, holding the weapon high above his head with the intention of spearing the teen.

A high-pitched cry made him look up and before he could react, X23 barrelled into him and began carving at his skin. She was lightning fast in her attack, having being trained at the art of combat since birth. But Caliban was stronger and tried to dodge the clone; waiting for her to make the only mistake she'd be able to.

X23 ducked a fist and swept her arm in a wide arc, aiming for the horseman's eyes. Caliban caught her arm before she could succeed, attempting to crush the limb just as he had done to Callisto but encountering a metal grafted to her bones that was so strong he couldn't do it. X23 smirked at him and aimed a kick at his stomach, a claw slicing easily through the leather of her boot. Caliban twisted away from her, letting go of her arm in the process.

Somersaulting backward, X23 landed on her feet and faced off against him. Caliban roared and lifted a boulder, flinging it at her. X23 ducked it easily, as he had known she would. As soon as the boulder left his hands he was running toward her, grabbing her around the waist as she dodged the rock and slamming her into the floor with cruel violence, forcing the wind out of her.

Before he could continue his attack the Beast leapt on him, driving him to the ground. The instructor was the more agile of the two, but his anger over the injury of one of his students had clouded his judgement and made him reckless. Caliban caught hold of the teacher's wrists and threw him forward. X23 had just leapt to her feet and popped her claws when she was hit by 402 pounds of flying mutant and driven to the ground once again.

Beast looked up blearily as Iceman renewed his attack, realising that X23 was down for the count and that he had sustained two deep cuts down his side from her claws that were leaking blood, turning his fur purple.

He flipped a button on his communicator. "Wolverine…we're not gonna make it."

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The Sphinx.

Jean had finally tired of toying with Wolverine, a telekinetic fist driving him into the wall near his fallen teammates. Hearing the Beast sound so defeated spurred him into getting to his feet. "Don't give up. We've got one more play left."

He faced off against Jean, who hovered above the ground between him and the door to Apocalypse's chamber. He just had to get past her and through those doors…

A movement to one side made him turn. Cyclops and Pyro had made it out from beneath the pillar – but before he could be grateful, Wolverine noticed Pyro's eyes glowing the same eerie blue as Jeans, the aggressive way in which Cyclops approached him…

_Oh shit, she's controlling their minds!_

"MOVE!"

Mystique barrelled into Logan and took him down to the floor as Cyclops unleashed an optic blast that would otherwise have taken his head off. They were both back on their feet in a second as Pyro, looking sinister without his trademark deranged grin, unleashed his flamethrowers at them. Mystique distracted the Acolyte by turning into an owl and flying across the roof of the chamber while Logan raced toward the doors, knowing that even if he managed to avoid Cyclops's optic beam, Jean was still in front of him…

The chamber suddenly went darker as the flames died. Logan turned to see Rogue in the entrance, arms wide as she turned off Pyro's powers. Cyclops fired an optic blast at her but she dove out of its way and negated his powers too.

"Jean's controlling them," shouted Mystique as she landed in the corner of the room and returned to human form. "Turn _her_ powers off!"

Too late. Jean fixed her eyes on Rogue and transported her consciousness to the astral plane.

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No… 

_Rogue glanced around her, the chamber she had been in just seconds ago replaced by this wasteland of floating rocks and purple sky. She was back in her own mind and she didn't know how to get out._

_Jean was ahead of her, hovering in mid-air. At one time the redhead would have sneered at her, taunted her, but now she merely watched silently. There was nothing she could have said to make Rogue feel any worse. She'd feared being sent back to this place ever since she'd been freed._

_"Ah guess you're not feeling talkative today," she said to Jean, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice._

_Jean hovered, silent._

_"That's OK. You know how I feel about being here – hell, ah guess that's why you did it. But Professor Xavier told me a few things about this place."_

_There was no response._

_"On the Astral plane, you tend to keep the same physical form and powers as in the real world unless you learn how to use the landscape to your own advantage. And you know ah can't."_

_Silence. _

_"But ah picked up some tricks since you left mah mind."_

_Rogue flew at Jean, arms outstretched as if to absorb her powers. Jean dodged the attack easily, a flaming aura rising around her to take on the shape of a Phoenix. Jean held her arms out as if embracing the power…_

_…And Rogue took the opportunity to use the memory of having Dorian's powers, shutting down Jean's powers. The horseman cried out, the Phoenix disintegrating. There was a brief moment of vertigo…_

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Jean dropped to the floor, stunned.

Cannonball, entering the chamber behind Rogue, took advantage of the lapse to take to the air and blast through the doors that lead to Apocalypse's inner sanctum.

Logan indicated frantically at Rogue. "Go go go!"

Rogue ran through the gap left by Cannonball, Logan following close behind. Mystique went to follow them when Jean grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the ground. Mystique leapt to her feet and aimed a kick at the girl, knocking her to the floor.

"Not so tough without your powers, are you?"

Jean had never been in a fight where she didn't have to rely on her powers. Her time with the X-Men had taught her some fighting skills, but Mystique had years of experience and her powers still intact. As Jean attempted to mount an attack, Mystique blocked her easily and decided not to change shape. When she beat the redhead to a bloody pulp, she wanted the girl to know it had been her to do it…

"NO!"

Mystique got out of the way just in time. A stream of fire missed her by inches as Pyro got back to his feet and saw what was about to happen to Jean.

"Stay out of this," hissed Mystique.

"I won't let you hurt her!" Pyro let off his flamethrower again, but had no way of controlling the fire without his powers and Mystique was able to stay out of their way.

"You _imbecile_!" She ran over to Pyro and downed him with a kick to the back of the head that drove him to his knees. Before she could inflict any further injury to him, Cyclops grabbed her by the arm.

"We can't just kill her."

"_You_ might not be able to, but _I_ can!" She shook him loose and turned her attention back to Jean.

In the inner chamber, Rogue saw the Eye of Ages lit up as she stood above the unmoving form of her brother. With a thought she utilised Dorian's powers, turning off all the power in the room, technological and mutant alike.

Within the Eye, Apocalypse opened his eyes. "_NO_!"

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Mexico.

The tree that had buried Magneto rustled as the horseman rose out of the fissure and advanced upon the scared, injured group of teens.

They turned to him and prepared to fight.

Without warning, Magneto's eyes stopped glowing and he fell out of the air. The symbols of Apocalypse detached from his face as he lay motionless on the ground.

Fred grinned. "Hey, we won!"

Crouched beside Todd, Wanda wiped the blood from his face. "Did you hear that Todd? We won…can you hear me? Todd…"

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China.

"I'm all iced out!"

Iceman backed away from Caliban, realising he was in a lot of trouble.

The horseman took two steps forward and fell, landing on the scarred earth that would show the results of the military strike for decades to come. Bobby gasped as the markings fell off his face.

Beast limped over and looked down at the Morlock. "Maybe Wolverine's plan worked after all."

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Egypt.

Angel plummeted out of the sky. Storm, still woozy and nursing her broken cheekbone, summoned a wind that slowed his fall.

Multiple ran over to the fallen Angel. "Hey, the glowing marks all fell off!"

"Thank the Bright Lady…"

Sunspot helped her to her feet, trying to lead her away from the horseman. "He still looks blue to me. I don't think it's over yet."

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The Sphinx.

The arguments between Mystique, Cyclops and Pyro were halted as they heard a sigh from the door of the chamber. They'd been so busy bickering that none of them had noticed Jean going after Rogue and Wolverine until she fainted.

"Jean!" Pyro ran over and cradled her head in his arms.

The symbols of Apocalypse fell from her face, leaving her looking like a normal teen girl once again. Pyro looked at Cyclops and grinned in relief. She's gonna be OK!"

"Great," muttered Cyclops, hurrying over to the doors to see how Rogue and Wolverine were doing.

Rogue approached the Eye of Ages and glanced dispassionately at its sole occupant. "You've used us for the last time."

She went to close the Eye, reaching out…

Apocalypse grabbed her arm.

With a cry of combined alarm and disgust, she shook herself free and began closing the Eye, Wolverine running up to help her. As they finished, Apocalypse started pounding on the sides to be let out and Rogue backed off nervously. Worried that the mutant might be able to free himself, Logan jumped atop the Eye.

"Rogue, turn the power back on!"

Spreading her arms, Rogue used the last remains of Dorian's power to restart the Eye. The hieroglyphs spun, locking Apocalypse within. As the lights went back on, Wolverine jumped down and popped his claws, running them through the controls and damaging them beyond repair.

"Let's go!"

Logan grabbed Rogue's hand and pulled her away, the pair of them almost falling from the outer diamond of the Eye of Ages as it closed up. They ran toward the doors, Rogue looking back over her shoulder as the Eye vanished in a flash of blue light.

"Where'd it go?"

"I dunno," replied Logan, picking Kurt up and throwing him over his shoulder. "Hopefully it just fell through the cracks of time, never to be seen again."

"Somehow, I doubt we'll be that lucky." Rogue turned away from where the Eye of Ages had vanished and saw Scott hurrying through the doors, breaking into a relieved smile as he saw her.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I am now." Rogue and Scott embraced, Logan shaking his head and leaving them alone. After a moments thought, he went back in and dragged Cannonball out too.

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Mexico.

"I've got him." Fred picked up Toad carefully, trying not to hurt the boy any further. He had lapsed back into unconsciousness, not saying a word since reminding the Brotherhood that they never won.

Wanda looked down at her hands, covered with Toad's blood, before going over to where Pietro stood above Magneto.

"I'm glad we stood up to him," said Pietro quietly.

"Yeah," said Wanda. "Me too."

Magneto opened his eyes, the first thing he saw the faces of his children wearing identical looks of concern. Between them, they helped him to his feet and Erik kept his arms over their shoulders as they led him toward the helijet.

Lance put an arm around Kitty, running his hand through her hair and checking the lump on her head. "Are you OK?"

"Fine," replied Kitty, smiling up at him, noticing he didn't look too good himself. His uniform was torn and there was a crust of dried blood from a cut across his forehead that had dripped onto his face. "Are you?"

"Yeah." Lance pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her head. "Fighting with the Brotherhood again – strange huh?"

"Totally," said Kitty, speaking into Lance's chest. "Did it make you want to go back?"

Lance laughed. "No thanks. I'm happy right where we are."

"Wow, that was quite a party guys." Tabby walked past them, using her good arm to take the strain off her dislocated shoulder. "Thanks for the invite."

Lance blinked. "Is she serious?"

"Who knows with her?" Kitty stepped away from Lance reluctantly. "We need to get Toad to the med-bay."

"You're right."

They headed back to the helijet, the sky lit up as debris from the orbital pyramids fell back to earth.

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China.

Spyke knelt beside Caliban, checking that his friend was all right. Some distance away Scaleface examined Callisto's arm, the disfigured woman pale and ill looking.

"We need to get Ray back to the Institute," said Bobby urgently.

"He's right," said Beast. "Caliban, are you able to walk?"

"Yesss." The Morlock stood, looking around at the damage he had caused. The Beast narrowed his eyes as he realised that the man looked more wistful than remorseful.

X23 approached him. "How's your side?"

"Shouldn't even need stitches," replied the Beast. "We'll make an X-Man of you yet."

X23 scowled. "Don't bet on it."

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Egypt.

Gambit opened his eyes, wincing. "What was Remy drinkin' last night?"

"You were hit by lightning!" exclaimed Jamie, two clones behind him fidgeting.

"Lightning?" Gambit glanced over at Storm, who looked a little shamefaced.

"I'm blue."

"That's OK Warren," said Magma. "We forgive you."

"I don't mean I _feel_ blue, I mean I _am_ blue!"

"I don't get it," said Roberto. "I mean, we won. Shouldn't he be back to normal?"

"I don't know," admitted Storm. "But we do need to get back to the mansion to investigate further. Can you get Colossus? He's still out cold."

"I get all the good jobs," muttered Roberto as he went over to the Russian. Magma hurried over to give Warren a hand, obviously a little taken with Angel even if he was blue.

"Gambit, can you help me with Alex?"

"_Oui_," replied Gambit, ruefully examining the burnt areas of his trench coat.

Storm lowered her voice. "And don't touch the spikes on his back, _no matter what_."

"You t'ink they be poisonous?" Gambit looked over to where Alex was conscious but clearly in some pain, the darts from Angel's wings embedded in his skin.

"I don't know, but for his sake I think we'd better find out soon.

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The Sphinx.

Wolverine walked outside, relishing the fresh air that at more than one point during the battle he thought he'd never experience again. A moment later Kurt teleported beside him with the Professor. Logan hadn't known if it was a good idea for either of them to teleport so shortly after regaining consciousness, but it was the fastest way to get Xavier to the surface.

The Professor looked up at the sky, the fallout from the orbital pyramids looking like shooting stars. "Do you think Apocalypse was stopped in time?"

"We cut it pretty close – but yeah."

"Have you any idea where Mystique went?"

"She was gone when we came out of the chamber. My guess is, she's long gone."

Cannonball walked up the steps and went with the instructors as they headed for the helijet. Kurt remained behind for a moment, waiting for his sister.

Rogue and Scott emerged from beneath the Sphinx hand in hand, no gloves to limit their skin contact. Kurt gave her a smile. "You did it Rogue! The girl who shut herself off from the world just saved it!"

"Ah wish ah could say ah did it for the world."

Kurt gave her a hug before teleporting away, leaving her and Scott to be alone for a few more minutes. Scott slipped an arm around her shoulders, idly playing with a lock of her hair. "I don't know where – "

"Rogue, Scott."

They looked back to see Jean climbing the steps, looking almost despondent. "I just want you to know that the things I did – all the things I did – were because I –"

"Save it Jean." Scott's voice was unusually cold.

"Even you don't believe your excuses, so just leave us alone." Rogue turned her back on Jean and the couple walked away.

Jean scowled. They didn't want her side of the story? Fine. She'd been foolish to even try.

Behind her, Pyro approached and wrapped his arms around her waist, his mouth against her ear. "So, where to now?"

"I don't know." Jean leant against him, her mind whirling with images she had seen in the mind of Apocalypse, more lucid than any she had received from Destiny.

_You can turn your back on me for now Rogue, but you WILL hear me out in the end – one way or the other._


	16. Epilogue

Thanks to:

X-BeypokeDigifan – Jean bad or not? Hmm, I think she's still pretty evil but she's learned a few lessons now. Thanks for the reviews!

LadyEvils – The best thing about fanfic is that you get to change the prog to the way it should have been, complete with casualties. I had fun injuring everyone! There might be another sequel at some point in the future but not for a while, I'm trying to get all my ongoing fics finished before Xmas and I'm starting a big, sprawling end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it type fic in the New Year, hope you'll check it out when it goes up. Thanks for all the great reviews!

X00001 – Wow, an hour to read it? It did take up about 23 pages and took me four days to write, so I guess that would be about right! Thanks for all the reviews; I'm glad you liked the fic!

XX-Goth-Gal – Caliban does look like Mr Hyde, I never thought of that before! And I love Tonda, poor little Toady with all his unrequited love, so I thought I'd give him a break – not much of a break huh? Pyro and Jean as a crime-fighting team's a pretty scary thought but I bet they'd be good at it. I hope you like the final chapter as much as the others and thanks for all the excellent reviews (you give PB a swelled head every time!).

DemonRogue13 – I would have loved to see some of that at the end of season 4 too, make life interesting if the Prof had knocked off a few of his students under Apocalypse's influence…thanks for all the reviews!

Furygrrl – Manifesting the Phoenix was great fun, I've never written Jean/Phoenix before and I kept having to refer back to the encyclopaedia but I think I got it right in the end. Pyro being all in love with Jean was something I never really planned on happening, it just caught my imagination after the chapter in 'Manipulating'. There might be a sequel – I dunno how I'm gonna get by at work without having Evil Jean schemes to dream up! But it gives me more time to work on 'Unpredictable' and finish 'WWGU' (I haven't done any work on that in an age) and my end of the world fic will be up in January (still tentatively entitled 'and I feel fine). Toronto just kinda occurred to me while I was trying to think of places around the world to put in the chapter. And no worries about me going on a Jott kick, I find that particular couple dull beyond belief, I think I've been converted to Jeance now! Thanks for the excellent reviews and the recommendations on Evo-over 18!

Disclaimer: If I owned, I'd have made the Age of Apocalypse longer. But I don't, so it wasn't.

Author Note: This isn't the original epilogue I had in mind. But the other didn't wanna be written and this occurred to me a few minutes ago so I substituted. Maybe the other one was a prob because I set myself on fire while writing it – don't ask. I've really enjoyed writing this story and although I've no immediate ideas for a sequel, I never say never – Evil Jean is so much fun to write, she's my hero! I have a Lance/ Jean (good Jean!) fic on the go at the moment and an 'end of the world' fic that should be up in the New Year. I hope you'll check some of them out. Again, thanks for the support of this fic and of 'Manipulating Evolution', without all the good reviews they would never have been written.

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_It's been a while._

Jean stood on the crest of the hill, the Xavier Institute in sight in the distance. It had been months since she'd been in Bayville; too busy getting over her experiences as Apocalypse's horseman to worry about what her old foes and teammates were getting up to. Her hair blew in the breeze as she observed the scene, too far away to really see what was going on.

"St John, I'm going to see what's happening. Stay here."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Pyro looked worried. "I don't think they'll be too happy to know we're back."

"Nobody's going to see me. Just wait here, I might be a while." She paused for a moment, wondering how to explain herself, a part of her wondering if she even should. "I've seen the future in the mind of Apocalypse and I've been dwelling on it too much. I need to get back in touch with the present."

"Well, if you're sure," said Pyro, returning to the notebook he was writing in. Jean thought the story of their lives would never find a publisher – who'd believe them? – but if it made him happy, then she was willing to overlook it.

Jean took to the air and flew over toward the mansion. There was a training session going on in the grounds. She could see Hank McCoy trying to avoid the New Recruits, all of them seemingly enjoying themselves way too much for them to be preparing for a fight. Ray Crisp was watching them, still unable to take part, but he looked healthy. Jean was neither glad nor sorry.

_The New Recruits as the X-Men beta team, out on missions, doing their part to keep the dream of peace alive, their team leader Sam Guthrie…_

Down below her, she saw Evan exit the gates and walk over to the nearest manhole. He pried off the cover and jumped in, sliding the cover back over as though it had never been removed. Jean figured it was frequently used though; he'd had no problems with it. She wondered vaguely how Caliban was doing after his experiences as a horseman, if any of the Morlocks had been fighting him. Allowing her curiosity to take over, she did a quick scan of Evan's mind. Callisto had been into a regular hospital, the medical knowledge in the Institute not up to repairing her crushed arm. She'd had metal pins and plates attached to the bones, and then 'mysteriously disappeared' an hour after being wheeled into recovery. Evan and Torpid had been in to get her, neither of them trusting the humans not to turn them in to the authorities. Caliban had returned with the Morlocks, remorseful over his part in the injuries of his teammates and people who'd never harmed him but realising he'd been used.

_The Morlocks hiding, crying, begging, as guns punched through flesh, claws separated skin from bone, a lone voice crying out for them to stop as the massacre continued…_

Briefly she wondered how Warren was doing. She imagined that Professor Xavier had given him an image inducer, but it was going to be hard for him to get through life with blue skin and metallic wings, transforming him from the handsome Angel into some kind of freak. His parents were probably dragging him to every plastic surgeon in America, throwing money at the problem and hoping it would go away. She knew it was her fault that he looked the way he did now, but she couldn't bring herself to be sorry. She didn't care what happened to him either way.

Jean soared above the Institute, heading toward the Brotherhood house, the first place in Bayville she'd ever lived, the place she'd learned how her powers could be used. A faint blur of silver told her that Pietro was heading home and she wondered briefly how they were doing after the knowledge that Mystique had held Forge back from the fight against Apocalypse so that he could infiltrate the minimal security of a SHIELD facility and steal a little-known metal alloy reputed to be as tough as adamantium and half the cost. She doubted Mystique had been back to the house since.

She saw Wanda walking from the building, the ever-adoring Toad hopping along beside her, no trace of his wounds evident. Wanda seemed to be listening to him rather than losing her temper, her body language speaking of both affection and irritation. Jean, who spent most of her time with Pyro, understood.

_Wanda and Tabby side by side, walking into the SHIELD facility, the boys gathering around them, all of them older and wiser and using their powers to help people…_

She flew away from the Brotherhood house, knowing that part of her life was done long before and there were no answers for her there. She headed toward Bayville High, not expecting to find anyone there on a Saturday but noticing the jeep in the parking lot outside the library and knowing that some one had been getting books out to help them with their studies.

Lance and Kitty walked out of the library, Lance carrying most of the books although Jean doubted they were his. He threw them nonchalantly in the back of the jeep and paused a moment to take Kitty into his arms, leaning down to catch her lips in his.

_Avalanche unsure of his place in the X-Men, Kitty wanting to study at College, both of them leaving so that Lance could get a job and Kitty could do a course in Genetics and still staying together in spite of everything, returning to the Institute together…_

Jean smirked, knowing it was thanks to her that the two were together. She followed the jeep from above, wondering where they were going although the direction suggested the mall. Sure enough, they went into the parking lot and got out of the jeep, Lance stealing another kiss before they entered the building.

New trick!

Jean walked calmly into the mall, her mental powers changing her appearance to the casual onlookers. Anyone that looked at her saw an attractive brunette four inches shorter than Jean, wearing casual clothes that were a million miles away from anything she would have chosen to wear but complimented the person she had chosen to be. Hopefully, no one would notice that she wasn't what she appeared.

After five minutes or so she saw Lance and Kitty by the food court, Kitty ordering the drinks and Lance wrinkling his nose at her choice. Jean watched casually and was rewarded two minutes later by the arrival of Scott and Rogue.

Jean tried to stay out of the way, knowing that Rogue might be able to breech her disguise, having no way of knowing whether or not Rogue had retained her telepathy as well as her telekinesis. But none of the four seemed to even see her as they sat at a table nearby, drinks in hand.

Scott took Rogue's hand, neither of them having a barrier between their skin and yet not seeming to mind. There were no ill effects on either of them.

Jean could make Rogue come over to her right now, make the others feel the need to go window-shopping at a clothes shop or something – but she didn't want to. Rogue would learn the truth when it happened.

_Trying to decide between her childhood sweetheart and the charming Remy LeBeau, struggling for months between loyalty and lust, Scott going missing on one of their missions, presumed dead – and then coming back…_

Why would Jean want to interrupt the fun?

She turned and left, knowing that the future she'd seen in the mind of Apocalypse would come to pass and knowing that she would play a key role in the future of mutantkind. But let them have their normal lives for now. She'd be back.

_Wings of fire…_

And she thought that maybe they'd earned the right to whatever happiness they could get.

Maybe she was getting soft. But she knew what was coming and that none of the X-Men were ready for it. When the time came, she'd be ready to take her place.

She walked out of the mall, back to Pyro, to what the future had to hold.

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Author Note: As I said, this isn't the ending I had in mind; I'd actually envisioned Jean telling Rogue about what she'd seen in the mind of Apocalypse. But this is what wanted to be written, so I've gone with it. I hope you enjoyed this and you'll check out what I do in the future.


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